Obesity health problems

Obesity is a worldwide health problem that is endemic to the modern world and is caused by a number of factors; however, the leading cause of obesity is the higher intake of calories than its expenditure and use. The leading measure of obesity is the Body Mass Index, or BMI calculation that calculates a person’s height against the person’s weight. While the standards for what is considered over weight and obese are different for different racial groups, it is found that a BMI of between 20 and 25 is considered a normal level; most above this index are considered obese at varying levels.

Obesity causes many health problems like cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and a reduced life expectancy. Cardiovascular diseases can result from obesity due the high fat content causing cholesterol related blockages in the heart as well as high triglyceride levels. There is also a strain on the heart since there is more tissue to supply blood to. For the same reason, even the least amount of work takes more effort.

Diabetes is also a consequence. Diabetes comes in two forms: in type 1 diabetes, there is a lack of insulin production while in type 2 diabetes, the body becomes resistant to insulin – this is the type of diabetes that most obese people suffer from. Obesity causes this disease due to the high amount of fat in the body. Insulin is the body’s signal to the body to use sugar instead of burning fat. When insulin resistance occurs, fat is burned but the process of burning fat also causes the acid levels of the body to be disturbed and slowly the cells of the body die with this acidosis.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which the tissues of the pharynx and the back of the mouth are so enlarged that they sag and block the passage of air during sleep. This inevitably causes one to awake and therefore, proper and deep sleep is never achieved. Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes the joints to inflame. The condition occurs when the ligaments of the body between two joints lose their protein matrices and degrade. This causes the joints to rub against each other, inflame, and wear out.

The most established way out of obesity is to exercise and exercise vigorously. There are no quick fixes in terms of medicine or surgery that are viable in the long term despite their effectiveness in the short term. Also important, the need to return to a diet that is less oil or fat based and more nutrient rich instead.