Obesity: the disease of the 21st century

Obesity: the disease of the 21st century ? It seems that really, obesity has become one of the most widespread diseases in the world so that it is even mentioned as a plague. Junk food, sedentary life and other factors may cause you to suffer from obesity, so we must be alert and informed as we now explain.

What is the Obesity?

Obesity is a condition characterized by excessive body weight due to adipose tissue accumulation , to the point of negatively affect the state of health. It is a metabolic disease chronic , which compromises the regulation of appetite and energy metabolism.

According to the World Health Organization, obesity is one of the main public health problems in the world, it is estimated that in 2008 around 1,500 millions of adults were overweight , and of these, 200 million men and around 300 million women were obese.

Difference between obesity and overweight

Of course, we should not confuse obesity with overweight, two terms that are often mentioned together. It is very important to understand the difference between normal overweight and obesity which is a real illness.

The term " obesity "is often used inappropriately to indicate who has a dozen kilos of more.

In this way to differentiate both concepts we can point out that those with a body mass index of less than 30 (for women 28) can be considered overweight , but if higher values ​​are given 30 (28) we can talk about obesity.Among the classes of drugs most commonly involved include antidepressants and corticosteroids.

Causes endocrine and metabolic

There are some rare hormonal diseases that can lead to obesity such as conditions of excessive production of cortisol.

Brain damage

There is a very rare condition in which brain damage in the hypothalamus area (region of the brain involved in the regulation of appetite) can lead to obesity.

Symptoms of obesity

We have already seen what are the causes of obesity, but it is important to know better this disease, to indicate its symptoms although the most obvious would be to have excessive physical or corporal weight.

To this are added other symptoms that may occur as a result of being an obese person . These would be:

• Alteration of the menstrual cycle
• Amenorrhea
• Arrhythmia
• Asthenia
• Increase in appetite
• Weight gain
• Decreased sexual desire
• Cardiomegaly
• Palpitations
• Depression
• Erectile dysfunction
• Bladder dysfunction
• Abdominal distention
• Knee pain
• Chest pain
• Hip pain
• Joint pains
• Skin erosion
• Swollen legs
• Tired and heavy legs
• Heavy tired legs
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• Abdominal swelling
• Insomnia
• Insulin resistance
• Hyperphagia
• Hyperglycaemia
• Hyperhidrosis
• Hypertension
• Social isolation
• Back pain
• Itching
• Rheumatism
• Acid regurgitation
• Snoring
• Sense of suffocation
• Nephrotic syndrome
• Cracked heels

Treatments for obesity

The objective of an obesity treatment is to achieve weight loss by reducing the amount of calories introduced with nutrition by below the amount of calories consumed with the exercise . The methods to achieve this vary a lot, also depending on the degree of obesity. Like all therapies, it requires a preliminary evaluation by a doctor who will select the most appropriate treatment for each particular patient.

Diet and exercise

The first approach is that of a diet based in the use of a low calorie diet to associate it with a p structured physical activity program and calibrated according to the needs and possibilities of each patient.

Medication

Regarding medication, scientific research has always been working to identify new molecules that will be associated with the diet.This approach tries to reconstruct the patient's eating habits , improve their weight control abilities, reactivate muscle structures and restore joint mobility, improve cardiovascular and respiratory systems, increase energy expenditure, increase lean mass and reduce body weight.

Surgery

Finally, there is the surgical approach to the so-called bariatric surgery ; In recent years, surgical techniques have evolved and improved more and more and today it is possible to propose this option to selected patients who have not obtained an answer in terms of weight reduction with medical therapies. According to the indications of the main scientific societies, the surgical option should be reserved for patients with third degree obesity or even for some cases of second degree obesity.

Article of interest:

• IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBESITY AND SUGAR?