Obesity - The major health issue in the present times!

The lack of motivation to do your loved things, lethargy and the decrease in self-confidence may be caused by Obesity.

Obesity- A chronic condition characterised by an increase in the size of fat cells and their number. Fat is stored in the adipocytes of adipose tissues, the storage house of fat. It is a health hazard and a predisposing condition to several health-related complications.

This made me write this article as people neglect obesity.

Coming to the topic, we all know that we get energy from the Diet and we use that energy to perform daily activities. The energy expenditure should always be directly proportional to energy intake. Excess energy intake or decreased energy expenditure leads to increased energy content which is converted into fat, the adipose tissues(a primary source of energy in your body).

The excess fat may be accumulated centrally or peripherally and Intra abdominally. These intra abdominal adipocytes have more glucocorticoid receptors, testosterone receptors, catecholamine-induced lipolysis. All these make clear that obesity may lead to the several conditions like Hypertension, Hormone related issues(like steroid hormones lead to a risk factor for Breast Cancer), Insulin Resistance, Dyslipidemia(abnormal amount of cholesterol in your blood), Diabetes and finally Coronary heart disease.

| Is there a way to find out how obese you are? Yes…!!!

There are several indices in practice but most commonly used one is BMI(Body Mass Index)-

BMI = Weight of the person/ (height)^2 [kg/m^2]

If BMI > 25 : You are pre obese/overweight (some may consider this is as Obesity)

IF BMI > 30: You are facing Obesity

vecteezy.com

However, it doesn’t differentiate ‘weight due to muscle’ and ‘weight due to fat’. A useful method ”Waist circumference to the Hip ratio” measures the intra abdominal fat and helps to know the risk of Coronary Heart disease.

How do I get overweight or obese?

1. Lack of Physical exercise.

2. Habituated to Sedentary lifestyle.

3. Depression leading to overeating.

4. Improper and irregular Diet...are some of the reasons

| Okay, that’s enough, how can I get rid of it?

The only way to get rid of obesity is its prevention.

1. Spend your energy by doing regular exercises like yoga, walking, jogging…

2. Dietary modifications

3. Check your Fibre intake - fibre forms bulk of the food, reduces the proportion of carbs in the diet, no nutritional value and helps in effective digestion.

4. Instead of carbs and fat-rich food, try to take proteins and vitamin-rich food.

Try this formula to be healthy-

Diet modifications + Physical Exercises ~ Healthy

Daily Energy Intake > Daily Energy expenditure ~ Unhealthy