It's a medical
condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may
have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased
health problems. People are considered obese when their Body Mass Index (BMI), a
measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square
of the person's height in meters, exceeds 30 kg/m2.Obesity is from the Latin word, obesitas,
which means "stout, fat, or plump."Ēsus is the past participle of edere
(to eat), with ob (over) added to
it.
The Greeks were the first to recognize obesity as a medical
disorder. Historically, obesity has been viewed as a sign of wealth and
prosperity because for most human history mankind struggled with food scarcity.
Human obesity is clearly depicted in Stone Age Artifacts, notably numerous
figurines that have been found within a 2000 kilometre band crossing Europe
from South-Western France to Southern Russia. Most famous is the Venus of
Willendorf, an 11 centimeter figurine found in Austria.
The cause of
obesity is quite simply when a person consumes more calories from the food that
he or she is able to burn. It is a combination of excessive food energy intake
and a lack of physical activity. A limited number of cases is due primarily to
genetics, medical reasons and psychiatric illness. Eating habits is one of the
listed cause of obesity. Nutritional guidelines even when widespread have done
so little to solve the problem of overeating and poor dietary choice. An
increase in the average amount of food energy consumed came from an increase in
carbohydrate consumption rather than fat consumption. The primary sources of
these carbohydrates are sweetened beverages which are consumed in our daily
food energy and also potato chips. Consumption of sweetened beverages and chips
is believed to be contributing to the rising rates of obesity. Inactive
lifestyle is also one of its causes; nowadays lots of people are not physically
active; they spend hours in front of TV and computer. In fact, more than two
hours a day of watching TV has been linked to overweight and obesity. Other
reasons for not being active are using a car instead of walking, and less
physical activities at home and at work because of modern technology and
conveniences. People who are inactive are more likely to gain weight because
they don’t burn the calories that they take in from food and drinks. Genetics
is one of the factors which cause obesity; it tends to run in families.
However, families also share diet and lifestyle habits which may contribute to
obesity. The chances of being overweight are greater if one or both of your
parents are overweight. Genes also affect the amount of fat you store in your
body and where on your body you carry extra fat.
Environment is another cause for obesity; a
person’s environment also plays a vital part. Environment includes lifestyle
behaviors, such as kinds of food a person eat and the physical activity they
have. Some people tend to have high-fat diets, putting taste and convenience
ahead of nutritional facts when they choose their meals without doing any
physical activities to burn the calories they take. Today more people drive
short distance to work instead of walking, and tend to eat out instead of
cooking.
Psychological disturbances
may also influence eating habits; many people eat much in response to their
emotions such as happiness, boredom, sadness, excitement and sadness. Most
overweight people have no more psychological disturbances than people at their
normal weight; the ones who seek treatment for serious weight problems have difficulties
with binge eating. The binge eating is
when people eat large amounts of food while they can’t control the amount of
food they eat; people who have a severe problem have what is called binge
eating disorder. This people may have more difficulty losing weight than those
people who can control the amount of food they eat.
Medication: some medicines
may cause weight gain. These medicines include some
corticosteroids, antidepressants, and seizure medicines; these medicines can
slow the rate at which your body burns calories, increase appetite or cause the
body to hold extra water.
Some medical condition may
also lead to weight gain and lead to obesity. Such as hypothyroidism; it is
when the thyroid gland fails to produce enough thyroid hormone which often
results in a lower metabolic rate and loss of vigor. Another medical condition
is the Cushing's Syndrome; it’s a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged
exposure of the body tissue to high levels of the hormone cortisol; symptoms
include upper body obesity, a rounded face, increased fat around the neck, and
thinning arms and legs. One more medical condition that results in obesity is
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which is a condition characterized by high level of
androgens (male hormones), irregular or missed menstrual cycle and in some
cases multiple small cysts on the ovaries.
References:
"Obesity
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity>.
"What is Obesity? What is BMI (Body Mass
Index)?." Medical News Today: Health News. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.
<http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/>.
"Obesity:
MedlinePlus." National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of
Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.
<http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesity.html>.
"Obesity.org."
Obesity.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013. <http://www.obesity.org/>.
"Obesity
- MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.
<http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/obesity/DS00314>.
subject.
"International Journal of Obesity." Nature Publishing Group : science
journals, jobs, and information. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.
<http://www.nature.com/ijo/index.html>.
