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Obesity
Risk factors for becoming obese
Diagnosing obesity
Complications of obesity
Treating Obesity
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Risk
Factors for becoming obese
The elements that contribute to overweight and obesity are
many.
1) Diet
High fat diets strongly contribute to weight gain. High fat
foods have many calories, and include fast foods, sweets, soda
and many popular snack foods. All of these types of food are
high in sugar and calories.
2) Lack of regular physical exercise
Those who do not exercise regularly or engage in enough
physical activity do not burn as many calories.
3) Psychological factors
Stress, emotional problems and other psychological problems cause
many people to overeat.
4) Genetics
Children of obese parents are approximately 25% more likely to
become obese in adulthood compared to those with parents who
are not obese. Genetic makeup by no means guarantees that
these children will become obese, although genetic makeup
often determines to some extent how much body fat is present
and where that body fat resides on the body.
5) Sex
Because men have more muscle than women, and because muscle
burns more calories than does fat, women often face a bigger
challenge than do men in avoiding weight gain. The average man
burns approximately 20% more calories than the average woman.
6) Age
As people age, muscle mass tends to decrease and fat begins to
account for a greater portion of body weight. Less muscle mass
also contributes to slower metabolism. Metabolism itself slows
with age. All of these factors reduce the body's need for
calories and decreasing caloric intake with age is required to
avoid weight gain.
7) Cigarette Smoking
Nicotine raises the body's metabolic rate, raising the rate at
which the body burns calories. Those who quit smoking
experience an average weight gain of between 6 to 8 pounds, as
they burn less calories when not smoking. The positive effects
of greater taste and smell after quitting smoking may also
contribute to an increase in food intake.
8) Pregnancy
After pregnancy, a woman's weight increases an
average of 4 to 6 pounds from her pre-pregnancy weight. This is true for each pregnancy, and
can contribute to long term weight gain in women.
9) Drugs
Many medications, including tricyclic antidepressants and
corticosteroids, often lead to weight gain.
10) Illness
Many illnesses and injuries result in decreased physical
activity, in turn leading to weight gain.
11) Medical Problems and Disease
Less than 2% of those considered obese can attribute the obesity
to medical problems. Of that 2%, conditions most likely to
cause or contribute to obesity are Cusing's syndrome (excess
production of hormones by the adrenal gland), low thyroid
activity and
other hormone imbalances. It is very rare that low metabolic
rates are causes of obesity.
The American
Obesity Association offers excellent advice, information
and resources for all those fighting obesity. The
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National
Institute of Health offers excellent articles and research
on obesity and
health issues. Use the search box to access obesity
related information. |
