Obese in simple terms means an excess of fat, usually in the absence of underlying disease, except in a few cases where hormonal disturbance can be held responsible for it. Life insurance companies have defined obesity in terms of risk to life from the available data of height and weight. There are various methods to assess the amount of fat in the body which ascertains the degree of obesity. Skin fold thickness measured by calipers, body mass index, waist/hip ratios, in fact there are standard tables available but body mass index and waist hip ratios are mostly considered. The ratio of weight in kilograms divided by square of height in meters is usually taken into consideration as a quick method of calculation and this ascertains the body mass index and thereby relative risk involved. A BMI of 25 is taken as the upper limit of normal, 25-30-low, 30-35 moderate, 35-40 high and above 40 is very high risk zone.
Obesity could also be a metabolic defect as a calorie intake of 4700 to 8500 calories in different individuals can lead to a gain of 1 kg weight. Various studies show that ATP-ase activity may be low in obese people and lead to a condition where energy consumption is lower and added to surplus calories results in the deposit of adipose tissue. Eating disorders, wherein hunger and satiety levels do not match, binge eating on emotional highs or lows, genetic predisposition, or endocrine obesity where hypoactivty of the thyroid gland may lead to abnormal weight gain. Not a very healthy solution is the use of medicines which suppress appetite.
The consequences of obesity can be medical problems such as early occurrence of cardiovascular diseases where fat deposition in the blood vessels leads to atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary disorders, gall bladder stones and sometimes musculo-skeletal problems especially osteoarthritis of the knees. Hypoventilation in obese people may even result in sudden deaths during sleep. Obesity can be managed by diet counseling, behavior therapy and regulated exercise and in some cases with drugs which suppress appetite by attacking the hypothalamus in the brain. However, the drawback is a quickly following rebound after withdrawing the drug. In cases of morbid obesity procedures like liposuction and surgery like jejuno-ilear bypass are not free from risk and the latter is only resorted to save life which has its own complications.
A healthy lifestyle with regular exercise from childhood onwards can lead to similar adult behavior. Skipping breakfast can affect your concentration at work or school and by mid-morning you tend to substitute it with less nutritious morning snacks. You are what you eat so try to follow the golden rules from the beginning of life.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Obesity