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Obesity

Obesity can be best described as the most common nutritional disorder especially in the affluent group of people.

But it is now getting fairly common in not-so affluent people also. It is a condition in which excessive accumulation of fat takes place in the body due to intake of food in excess of physiological requirements. Therefore, over-nutrition is as much malnutrition as under-nutrition is. An excess of 50 calories per day can increase about 25 Kilograms (Kgs) in a period of ten years.

Weight bears the relationship with age, sex and bone structure. Obesity or over-weight has been classified into three types as follows, depending upon the excess in normal weight.

• Causes of Obesity:
• Obesity is generally caused by two factors:
• 1.Exogenous – Overeating or intake of excessive calories compared to physical work or exercise
• 2.Endogenous — Due to inherent metabolic disturbance of the body.

Bad eating habits are also the factors contributing to obesity. Obesity is rarely seen amongst active persons and it is more common in those with sedentary habits. Obesity can occur both in male and female at any age.

Adverse Effects of Obesity:
Morbid obesity is a condition wherein people are overweight by 45 kilos to what is normal for their age and sex.
1.Obesity reduces the life expectancy.
2.Obesity may result in the following medical conditions:
(A)Abdominal Hernias.
(B)Varicose Veins.
(C)Flat Feet.
(D)Bronchitis.
(E)Osteoarthritis of Knee, Hips and Lumber Spine.

3.Due to poor reflexes, liable to fall down on slippery floors.
4.High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): It leads to greater wear and tear of the entire vascular system and consequently it doubles the risk of cardio-vascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. It may also cause damage to kidneys.
5.Metabolic disorders such as:
(A)Gout.
(B)Cholesterol in Arteries.
(C)Stone in Gall Bladder.
(D)Diabetes Mellitus.

General Discussion:

2. Genetic factors play an important role in determining the traits of obesity. Some genes play the role to telling the body how to metabolize food and to use extra calories or stored fat.Obesity runs in families as generally families eat similar foods, have similar lifestyle habits and thinking patterns, such as that children should eat more to become big and healthy.Certain illnesses like thyroid gland problems or genetic diseases run in families.

3. Some eating disorders like Binge eating disorder affect a person’s diet as he eats more and repeatedly often in binges. These people generally lack the developed eating patterns learned in childhood.

4. It is also to be remembered that obesity is not the result of momentary overeating. It is a long term phenomenon because people tend to overeat over long periods of time.

5. Emotions can fuel obesity, as people tend to eat more when they are upset, anxious, sad, stressed or even bored. Afterwards they feel bad about eating more, and later to relieve this stress, they may eat even more.

Sedentary lifestyle is another important factor as people tend to eat more when they are doing nothing and just sitting idly watching TV or video games. Cars dominate our life and we seldom walk or exercise. There is less time to cook healthy food and we often tend to eat fast foods.
Body mass index is the most simple and useful index to estimate body fat. It is calculated as follows:

BMI = Weight in Kilograms / Square of height in meters.

So   BMI = Kg / square ms.
or    BMI = Weight (lbs) * 703 / height (inches)2

BMI is indexed as follows for reference:

BMI  < 18.5              =  Underweight
BMI  18.5 – 24.9       =  Normal weight
BMI   25 – 29.9         =  Overweight
BMI   30 – 39.9         =  Obese
BMI   > 40                =  Severely obesity.

Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height. Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often push children on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Childhood obesity can also lead to poor self-esteem and depression. One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the diet and exercise habits of your entire family.

There are excellent homeopathic remedies for genetic and lifestyle related predisposition to obesity for adults and children alike. But still it is recommended that one should start the homeopathic constitutional medicines at the stage of being overweight because it becomes more and more difficult to control weight once the obstinate fat settles in.