Obesity simply means being overweight to the extent that it can pose various health hazards. being slightly plump doesn’t mean that one is obese. So how does one know whether one is obese … a few simple steps can determine the extent of weight problem that the person has.

1. BMI – Body Mass Index: this is an indicative tool which is basically a ratio of weight to height so as to determine an acceptable weight level for a person of a certain height. This is not a fool proof measurement as it doesn’t distinguish between fat tissue and muscle mass.

A simple calculation  for BMI calculation is:

Weight/ (height in metres )²

Let me explain it with an example. Say the height of the person is 5 feet 3 inches and the weight is 65kgs. The BMI calculation would result in first conversion of feet and inches into meters. One inch is equal to 0.0254 meters so the calculation would be:

Step 1: 5 feet = 5X12 = 60 inches

Step 2: add 3

Step 3: total inches = 63 inches

Step 4: 63X 0.0254 = 1.6002

Step 5: divide the weight in kgs by height in metres squared

65/(1.6002 X 1.6002) = 25.38428 (BMI)

 The table would provide further indication of the person’s obesity measurement

2. Fat measurement:

There are instruments for measuring the fat in an individual, but in the absence of the same, physical examination of underarm area and waist area provides and insight into the obesity of the person.

3. Waist measurement:

A women with a waist size of greater that 35inches and a man with a waist size of 40inches come under the category of being obese.

What are the causes of obesity?

Though there are various causes of obesity like

– genetics

– medications

– diseases

but the most common cause of obesity is linked to

– overeating

– less or no exercise

Obesity is an outcome of a simple principle – consumption of more calories than required by the body. These calories get converted to fat which gets centered around the waist, buttocks and other areas.

Each individual is born with a defined set of Fat cells. These cells are flexible and expand to hold the increasing fat deposits. Hence once the fat deposits increase drastically, these cells expand exponentially creating a condition known as obesity.

Health hazards of obesity

1. Diabetes: Obese patients are on a higher risk of getting Type II Diabetes. Being obese can inhibit the body’s capability of the maintaining blood glucose levels. A lot of obese people tend to develop a resistance to insulin which may in the long run cause Diabetes.
2. Hypertension: Hypertension is the result of an increased arterial pressure. This also has tendency of causing cardio vascular diseases. Research has concluded an evidence of waist circumference being a independent predictor of systolic BP. Also excess abdominal fat has been associated with hypertension.
3. Osteoarthritis: Excessive weight leads to an increased pressure on joints thereby hastening their erosion. Further hindrance of exercising accentuates the problem.
4. Stones: Obese people have an impaired ability for managing their blood glucose levels. They even have a tendency of developing an insulin resistance. Also insulin resistance has been thought to alter the renal acid base metabolism which translates to an increased tendency of developing Uric acid stones. Obese people tend to overeat and largely have a disposition towards fast food and sugary drinks leading to higher intake to purines( animal based proteins) and frustose which induce the formation of stone crystals in the body.
5. Cancer: Though there is no direct correlation of obesity and cancer but certain hormones like estrogen produced via fat cells is associated with breast and other cancers. In addition insulin resistance developed by obese patients overtime stimulates the growth of certain tumours.

Tumors likely to effect an obese person are  Oesophagus, Pancreas, Colon and rectum, Breast (after menopause), Endometrium (lining of the uterus), Kidney, Thyroid, Gallbladder etc..

4. Respiratory distress: Expiratory reserve volume (ERV) is decreased in obesity. A higher BMI leads to a reduced ERV. Obesity leads to dyspnoea or sleep dyspnoea which means shortness of breath or breathlessness or the feeling of impaired breathing. This can disrupt the day to day functioning of a person. It may cause tightness in chest,  arterial oxygen desaturation may happen.
5. Heart/ cardiac diseases: Obese people have been found to have a high LDL (Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) which is bad cholesterol and therefore they are at a risk of heart/cardio vascular related diseases. It inhibits the HDL and therefore the risk of arterial blockage and stroke increases.
6. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) : in simple terms, when the contents of the stomach some back up the food pipe it is medically termed as Gastroesophageal reflux disease. An obese patient with a higher fat deposits near the stomach lining and deranged blood glucose levels are at a higher risk of developing such a disease.

Treatment of obesity

The treatment of obesity is multifold and depends on a number of factors like the age, health conditions, extent of obesity  and lifestyle of the person.

Usually the treatment has a special diet and light exercise in built into it to get the person started.

For a obese person it is imperative that the individual starts losing weight even if it is 500gms to 1 kg per month. Even such small loss would result in tremendous health benefits.

For customized diet plans to treat obesity write to us on  info@choosemydiet.com