Obesity

What is Obesity?

According to the World Health Organization, Overweight and Obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.

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What are some of the risks associated with developing obesity?

·       Physical Inactivity

·       Overeating, frequent eating &/or a diet high in simple carbohydrates

·       Genetics – a person id more likely to be obese if both parents are obese

·       Some chronic illnesses e.g PCOS, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s syndrome, insulin resistance

·       Some medications e.g antidepressants, steroids, oral contraceptives

·       Psychological factors – for some people, emotions influence eating habits

·       Social issues e.g lack of money to buy healthy foods or lack of safe places to walk/exercise

·       Hormones – hormones produced pregnancy can stimulate weight gain as well as some used for contraception

·       Childhood weight – overweight children are more likely to become overweight/obese adults

·       Ethnicity – persons of African or Hispanic descent tend to gain weight earlier in life than Asians or Caucasians

What is normal?

One way to measure obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (kg) divided by the square of his or her height (m2). Below is a chart that breaks down the categories ranging from “underweight” to “obese”. Which category do you fall in?

What are some of the complications of Obesity?

Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

For more information on Obesity & what you can do to reduce your risks, contact your regular healthcare provider today.