OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY

Have you wondered what life would be like if your body stores up more fat than it burns to the extent that walking becomes a physical challenge? We all go about our daily lives caring less about the consequences of the high-calorie content food we consume and how much we consume. In most cases obesity and overweight stem from eating disorders, other cases include heredity, use of drugs, etc.

 

 

Being overweight and obese though are terms with quite similar characteristics do not completely mean the same thing. One common feature they both have is that anyone suffering from both has an excessively large amount of fat stored in his or her body which is considered unhealthy and makes the person prone to having health issues such as; stroke, gall bladder disease, and gallstone, osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and joint).

BMI is an acronym that stands for body mass index and it is a concept that is commonly used to group people based on weight, age, height, and gender into underweight, normal overweight, and obese by dividing their weight in kilogram by the square of height in meters.

BMI ranging from 25.0 to less than 30 points to individuals who are just overweight while, a BMI of 30 or higher indicates that a person is obese, a BMI ranging from 18.5 to 24.9 is ideal for most adults of normal body weight, and a BMI below 18.5 indicates that a person is underweight.

Although clearly stated, they are not totally similar yet people suffering from both experience some common problems;

• Excess fat in the body increases the vulnerability of a patient to stroke because high cholesterol causes fatty deposits to build up in arteries thereby making it stiff and as a result making it difficult for blood to flow.
• Obese patients are no stranger to sleep apnea, a breathing condition which causes a person to snore very loudly while sleeping.
• The cost of feeding people suffering from obesity and overweight is exponentially more than that of normal-weight individuals.
• People suffering from obesity experience joint pain especially in the knee hip and back due to excessive load placed on these joints everyday causing wear of cartilage protecting them.
• Overweight health-related issues also include carcinogenic diseases such as liver cancer, kidney cancer, endometrium (lining of the uterus) esophageal cancer.
• In terms of mental health, obesity is linked to depression, sleep disorder, anxiety disorder, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Some common ways to treat and prevent obesity includes;

• Weight management program: this includes numerous exercise for overweight, educational lectures, behavior therapy, etc. it involves a wide variety of activities needed to equip people with the required skills and knowledge to fight and also prevent obesity.
• Dietary change: practicing healthier eating habits are necessary for treating obesity, reduced excessive calorie intake, and eating a balanced diet. Dietary change is one of the first things to do if you truly want to lose weight.
• Exercise regularly; engaging in physical activities like running, weight lifting, yoga, etc. is recommended for obese patients because exercise facilitates the burning of fat in the body.

Over the years, regular exercise has proven to be a very useful and effective tool for weight loss/control, it requires commitment and sticking to a particular routine. Physical changes become visible weeks after you start regular exercise but it also helps to prevent some major health issues like stroke, heart attack.

• Seek professional help: Endocrinologist, Primary care provider, Nutritionist, pediatrician are some of the people that can help an obese patient. Obese and overweight that truly want a change in their anatomy need a knowledgeable party guiding them through the process who can ensure that they make a lifestyle out of living and eating healthy.
• Bariatric surgery: bariatric surgery is a medical operation that involves changing the structure of the digestive system by reducing the size of the stomach allowing the patient to eat less food and feel full sooner.
• Weight loss medication: weight loss medication such as caffeine, meratrim, hydroxyat, raspberry ketone, orlistat, are usually prescribed to an obese patient if exercise and dietary change does not result in weight loss and the patient is liable to immediate health risk.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY

In some cases obesity can be hereditary while overweights is usually due to lifestyle; when obese parents procreate chances are, their children will equally be obese whereas a man can be overweight and yet his children could grow up and be of normal size.

An obese is known to have significantly more body fat than an overweight person. The difference in body mass index also helps to show the variation between the obese category and the overweight.