The Obesity Nightmare
There is a major difference between someone being overweight and being obese. When you're overweight, the excess amount of body weight may potentially be from bones, muscles, fat or even water. By the definition, the term obesity is defined as body fat which has accumulated to point where it can have detrimental effects on your health and well being. The BMI (Body Mass Index), which can indicate high body fat percentage is determined by a persons weight divided by the square of height in meters. In America and other Western Countries, a BMI over the 30.0 range, is considered to be obese. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and NHANES (National and Nutrition Examination Survey) indicate that approximately two thirds of adult men and half of adult women are either overweight or obese. Roughly thirty three percent of children ages six to nineteen are overweight and nearly twenty percent fall into the obese category. Sometimes it's difficult to distinguish if an adolescent is overweight because they develop at different times and rates. Unfortunately there is not one single cause for being overweight or obese, as there is not one single treatment or a single method to prevent it from occurring either. If you are obese, whether it's from an underlying health condition that perpetuates it or simply from bad habits, the first thing you need to understand is that there is no easy fix, no miracle diet or magic pill that will fix it. Fighting obesity is a complete lifestyle change. Treatments can range from a mixture of exercise, healthier eating habits/diet, behavioral treatments, weight loss drugs and in some severe cases, weight loss surgery. The following are some of the causes of this current epidemic problem now categorized as a disease.
Causes of Obesity; Hereditary & Environmental Factors
Dating back thousands of years, we have always been taught that a family sticks together and has each others back. The operative word being "taught". While these beliefs are actually good ones, there are other family heirlooms that can be passed along for generations that are not so good. We have all heard that famous cliche or seen a commercial of someone eating something and saying "it's just like mom use to make" or "grandma's recipe", well that could also be part of your weight problem. Just like money, jewelry and other heirlooms are passed down the family tree, families also share lifestyles and diet/eating habits. While your Great Grandmothers recipe may be absolutely delicious, it also could be simply unhealthy and not good for you. A perfect example of this would be Paula Dean. While her cakes and desserts have been one of the best for years on end and are to die for, they have so much sugar content in them, you might literally do just that. It's no wonder that she has a company that manufactures diabetic medications.Your environment plays a big role in your health as well. You might have a demanding work schedule and easy access to cheap, high caloric processed foods or the neighborhood gym is a bit to pricey in your opinion. The question you have to ask yourself is, How much is your health worth to you?
The easiest way to combat genes, environment and family history is through education. Kind of like racism, no one is born hating other ethnic groups, it's a learned behavior that can easily be corrected. Just because the food is made a certain way because that's the way your family has always done it, doesn't make it any healthier and does not mean you have to make it in the same manner. Everyone is different and you can make your own choices of what's best for you. You can prep your meals at home so that your not tempted to eat junk food during long work days. Your problem has already been identified, you're overweight or obese, so be honest with yourself, stop making excuses and address the issue head on.
Medications and Certain Medical Conditions
There is a large percentage of obese people that got that way from simply bad habits and over eating, however there is a small percentage of people that gained the excessive amount of fat involuntarily through some type of underlying medical condition. Hypothyroidism is a condition in which your thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone. Being that the thyroid hormone regulates your metabolism, not enough of the hormone will result in your metabolism slowing down and a lot of disproportionate weight gain. Cushing's Syndrome is another medical condition that will perpetuate extreme weight gain. This affliction results when the adrenal glands produce a surplus of cortisol, the stress hormone which will make you want to eat more. Diabetes affects the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels, in many cases this results in unwanted weight gain. Some people with clinically diagnosed Depression will over eat, and can eventually lead to Obesity. Other inherited conditions and diseases of the brain have also been linked to obesity. Even birth control has caused unwanted weight gain in some women. There are also several prescribed medications that can bolster the body's fat percentage. Medications, most notably steroids such as some anti-depressants, high blood pressure drugs, and drugs prescribed for seizures have been associated with excessive weight gain.
This is why it's imperative that you get checked by a Health Care Professional so that the root cause of your excessive weight gain can be determined correctly. Some people may have a condition that they are not even aware of. If you are trying to lose weight and have an affliction that opposes what you are trying to do is the equivalent of trying to ice skate uphill. Make it easier on yourself, go see your Doctor.
Psychological and Emotional Factors
You might underestimate the effect that some psychological or emotional problems have on your weight, health and well being. I personally have always been confident and content with myself, but there are individuals that allow circumstances in their lives to affect their self esteem. Self esteem is just that, how one feels about/assesses themselves, not what anyone else thinks about you. As you might have noticed through out this article, many of these factors are linked together and/or one can be the cause/preserve the other. Emotional or psychological issues such as stress, low self esteem and depression can not only alter your behavior, but your eating habits as well. More often than not, they will change your eating habits to the point where they become grossly unhealthy and result in major weight gain. Lack of sleep and/or lack of exercise/physical activity will only heighten the severity of the issue. No matter what you are going through in life, even if the circumstances seem never ending, you always have to belief in yourself. Faith is believing what you don't want to believe. Having a negative mind can not lead to positivity. Understand that every problem, regardless of what it is, will not change over night. It's a process that takes time, just as losing weight will. Some problems take a little longer to deal with than others, but always keep your head up.
Effects of Obesity on your Health and Well Being
Now this portion of the article could possible go on forever. The effects of obesity on your health and well being, just so you know, none of them are positive. You would think that alone would be motivation enough. However, some people are just naturally hard headed/reactive and do not respond to things until something tragic occurs/it's too late. Research has shown that obesity has been linked to lower life expectancy, heart disease and attacks, diabetes, joint and breathing problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, cancers, bone problems, hernias, arthritis, and deep vein thrombosis to name a few. Not to mention how it affects your self esteem, limits your mobility, increases sweating, and can lead to depression, social discrimination and even fewer employment opportunities. This is not something that you can just close your eyes and wish it to go away. It's going to be a lot of work, a lot of hard work at that. I can not stress this enough, but It will not be easy. It's time to put your big boy/big girl underwear on and get to work. When you come to that point to where you want to quit, and believe me you will, probably more often than not, ask yourself one question, Do I want to live?