obesity

 

Many factors can contribute to excess weight gain including eating patterns, physical activity levels, and sleep routines. Social determinants of health, genetics, and taking certain medications also play a role.

Obesity is a complex issue with many causes. It's caused when extra calories are stored in the body as fast 

If you consume high amounts of energy, particularly found in high fat and high sugar foods, and do not use all of the energy through physical activity, much of the extra energy will be stored in the body as fast

What is obesity?

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease with several causes that lead to excessive body fat and sometimes, poor health. Body fat itself is not a disease, of course. But when your body has too much extra fat, it can change the way it functions. These changes are progressive, can worsen over time, and they can lead to adverse health effects.

The good news is that you can improve your health risks by losing some of your excess body fat. Even small changes in weight can have a big impact on your health. Not every weight loss method works for everyone. Most people have tried to lose weight more than once. And keeping the weight off is just as important as losing it in the first place.

What are the three types of obesity?

Healthcare providers classify obesity into class types based on how severe it is. They use BMI to do it. If your BMI is between 25.0 and 29.9 kg/m², they put you in the overweight category. There are three general classes of obesity that healthcare providers use to evaluate what treatments may work best for each person. They include:

• Class I obesity: BMI 30 to <35 kg/m².
• Class II obesity: BMI 35 to <40 kg/m².
• Class III obesity: BMI 40+ kg/m².

How does obesity affect my body?

Obesity affects your body in many ways. Some are simply the mechanical effects of having more body fat. For example, you can draw a clear line between extra weight on your body and extra pressure on your skeleton and joints. Other effects are more subtle, such as chemical changes in your blood that increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Some effects are still not well understood. For example, there is an increased risk of certain cancers with obesity. We don’t know why, but it exists. Statistically, obesity increases your risk of premature death from all causes. By the same token, studies show that you can significantly improve these risks by losing even a small amount of weight (5% to 10%).

What are the symptoms of obesity?

There are no specific symptoms associated with obesity. A doctor may diagnose obesity based on the following factors:

• excess amounts of abdominal (visceral) fat that are higher than the amounts of body fat in other are

 

Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity

·         All-causes of death (mortality).

·         High blood pressure (hypertension).

·         High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (dyslipidemia).

·         Type 2 diabetes.

·         Coronary heart disease.

·         Stroke.

·         Gallbladder disease.

 

 

 

 

 

How is obesity classified?

The following Classes trusted source are used for adults who are at least 20 years old:

BMI	Class
18.5 or under	Underweight
18.5 to <25	“normal” weight
25 to <30	Overweight
30 to <35	class 1 obesity
35 to <40	class 2 obesity
40 or over	class 3 obesity (also known as morbid, extreme, or severe obesity)

What is childhood obesity?

For a doctor to diagnose obesity in a child over 2 years old or a teen their BMI has to be at or above the 95^th percentage trusted source  A BMI at or above the 95th percentile is higher than the BMI of 95% of people with the same age and sex assigned at birth.

Percentile range of BMI	Class
>5%	underweight
5% to <85%	“normal” weight
85% to <95%	overweight
95% or over	Obesity

From 2015 to 2016, 18.5% trusted source (or about 13.7 million) of U.S. youth between 2 and 19 years old

 

 

What are the types of weight loss surgery?

Weight loss surgery is commonly called bariatric surgery.

This type of surgery limits how much food you can comfortably eat or prevents your body from absorbing food and calories. Sometimes it can do both.

Weight loss surgery isn’t a quick fix. It’s a major surgery and can have serious risks. Afterward, people who undergo surgery will need to change how they eat and how much they eat, or they risk getting sick.

However, nonsurgical options aren’t always effective at helping people with obesity lose weight and reduce their risk of comorbidities.

Types of weight loss surgery include:

• Gastric bypass surgery: In this procedure, a surgeon creates a small pouch at the top of your stomach that connects directly to your small intestine. Food and liquids go through the pouch and into the intestine, bypassing most of the stomach. It’s also known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery.
• Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB): LAGB separates your stomach into two pouches using a band.
• Gastric sleeve surgery: This procedure removes part of your stomach.
• Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch: This procedure removes most of your stomach.