OBESITY FACTS 1

What Happens to Your Body When You Are Obese? The Effects of Obesity You Can't Always See

Dr Mercola

Obesity is defined as a medical condition marked by accumulation of excess fat in your body. The word comes from the Latin word "obesus," which roughly translates to "to eat." Obesity can be divided into two primary categories, based on how it occurs:

Exogenous obesity: This type of obesity is caused by eating more food than the body needs. Excess calories are converted into fat, leading to weight gain.

Endogenous obesity: A type of obesity caused by a genetic malfunction or a problem in hormonal production that result in weight gain.

Obese people are generally at risk of developing life-threatening complications and diseases. Furthermore, an obese woman going through a pregnancy can develop additional complications apart from the ones normally associated with obesity, which ultimately affects the health of the fetus as well.

This guide aims to educate you on obesity: the alarming statistics in the United States, how this condition wreaks havoc on your body and what you can do to prevent or reverse it.

Overweight Versus Obese: What Is the Difference Between Them?

You may have heard the words "overweight" and "obese" used interchangeably, but what exactly is the difference between them? The answer lies in their body mass index (BMI) classification. According to the BMI table, the overweight category has an index of 25 to 29.9. The obese category on the other hand, has an index of 30 or higher.

In essence, obese people are heavier than overweight people. It's possible that you can be overweight, but still have a generally healthy body. Being overweight simply means that you have excess pounds above your ideal weight.

Furthermore, there's a very small chance that you can be obese, yet do not have the health risks associated with it. The Harvard Medical School classifies this rare occurrence as "metabolically healthy obesity." People who fall under this category usually have a high BMI with a large waistline, but have normal sensitivity to insulin, and normal blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

However, if you're obese yet metabolically healthy, that doesn't mean you are immune to the negative effects of obesity forever. The condition is not permanent, and you may soon feel obesity-related complications, especially as you age. Instead, you should strive to achieve a healthy weight so that you can avoid possible health complications in the future.

Note: For your reference, a BMI table can be found below.

Adult Obesity in America Is Growing Every Year, and Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

Adult obesity in the United States is a growing concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 26.5 percent of all American adults are now considered obese. Due to the prevalence, it's now believed that 1 in every 5 deaths are obesity-related.

According to the Journal of American Medicinal Association (JAMA), 48.1 percent of non-Hispanic African-Americans are obese, making them the ethnicity with the highest obesity population. This is followed by Hispanics (42.5 percent), non-Hispanic Caucasians (34.5 percent) and non-Hispanic Asians (11.7 percent). Overall, 40.2 percent of middle aged adults (40 to 59 years old) in the U.S. are obese.

Economic and educational factors play a large role in obesity among adults. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NHCS), obesity among men is similar in all income levels, but the rate is slightly higher at higher income levels, and that education level has no significant influence in developing obesity.

On the other hand, women who have lower incomes tend to develop obesity more than women who have higher incomes.

Childhood Obesity in America Is Growing Rapidly as Well

Unfortunately, much like adult obesity, childhood obesity in America is also becoming more prevalent. This is because many parents believe their kids are average in size, but are actually obese. In addition, they may have difficulties speaking to their children about their growing weight, so the parents put it off until problems begin to show.

The CDC estimates that in children and adolescents 2 to 19 years old, 17 percent are obese, or a total of 12.7 million children.

Morbid Obesity: A More Severe Form of Obesity

Morbid obesity is a serious health condition that needs to be addressed promptly. Its main characteristic is a BMI higher than 40 (or 100 pounds heavier than the ideal weight), which can result in more severe health complications. In the United States, morbid obesity is a growing problem. It's estimated that more than 15.5 million citizens are morbidly obese, and that number is expected to grow higher in the coming years.

The causes for this condition are very much the same for people who are obese, such as genetics, environment, eating habits, possible mental disorders and underlying medical conditions. Health complications that can arise are virtually the same as well. Morbidly obese people may develop diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

The Various Causes of Obesity

There are many factors that can cause obesity, from lifestyle choices and hereditary conditions, to hormonal imbalances. Learn the common causes below.

Sedentary Lifestyle

Sitting down too much is a main cause of obesity. If you don't get adequate exercise and you consume more calories than needed, the excess amount becomes stored as fat, leading to weight gain.

Poor Dietary Choices

Another big factor that can increase your risk of obesity is the kinds of foods you eat. A diet high in processed and sugary foods can greatly increase your BMI. Alcoholic beverages contain lots of calories as well, so if you are a frequent heavy drinker, you'll gain weight faster.

Eating out in restaurants is another reason for weight gain. Many restaurant meals, especially fast foods, contain lots of calories; harmful fat and sugar that can make you gain weight. If you add sugary drinks such as sodas to your meal, the calories add up even more.

Genetics

Currently, there are four genetic disorders associated with obesity:

Prader-Willi syndrome: A condition marked by weak muscle tone, poor growth and delayed development. It also causes an insatiable appetite during childhood.

Bardet-Biedl syndrome: This condition causes abnormal weight gain, along with a host of vision problems, cognitive difficulties and abnormalities in the genitals. Children with this condition may have extra fingers during birth as well.

Alström syndrome: Defining symptoms of this condition include gradual loss of vision and hearing, cardiac muscle weakness and enlargement, type 2 diabetes, obesity and a short stature. This is caused by a mutation in the ALMS1 gene.

Cohen syndrome: Also known as the Pepper syndrome, its main symptoms include intellectual disability, small head size and weak muscle tone. Obesity can develop during late childhood or adolescence, which affects the lower torso only — the arms and legs remain normal.

In addition, obesity seems to have a hereditary connection, but this is not fully understood. Your chances of developing obesity are higher if one or both your parents are obese — not only due to genetic reasons, but due to your family's lifestyle choices as well.

Medications

Certain types of medicines such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, antiepileptics, corticosteroids and antihyperglycemics can cause you to gain weight if used long-term. If you're using any of them right now to treat a certain medical condition, consult with your doctor to find an alternative that will not affect your weight.

Psychological Reasons

In some people, certain emotions trigger hunger. Boredom, sadness and stress are just a few examples that can cause a person to eat more than they need to. While most obese people typically experience the same type of psychological disturbances as that of normal-weight people, it's estimated that 30 percent of those who seek treatment for obesity have psychological problems in controlling their binge eating.

Environment and Economic Factors

Certain environmental or economic factors come into play regarding weight gain. For example, financial problems can cause you to purchase ready-to-eat, processed food more frequently than healthy, organic food. Other times, lack of facilities to exercise or safety issues in your neighborhood can increase your risk of obesity.

Obesity Symptoms to Watch Out For

BMI is the main indicator used to identify obesity by calculating whether a person has a normal weight relative to their height. To compute for the BMI, your weight (in kilograms) is divided by the square of your height (in meters). Note however, that BMI does not indicate the overall health of your body. It is only used to help indicate your weight status.

The table below shows how the BMI is computed for adults:

BMI	Weight Status Category
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5 to 24.9	Normal or healthy weight
25.0 to 29.9	Overweight
30.0 and above	Obese

Children and teenagers can compute for their BMI as well, but the results are expressed differently. Once they have their BMI, it is expressed in percentile using a graph or a percentile calculator. Their results will be compared to children of their own age (BMI-for-age) who participated in national surveys during the period of 1963 to 1965 and 1988 to 1994. This is because young people are still growing, thus their height and weight may fluctuate. The table below is used for interpreting results in children:

Weight Status Category	Percentile Range
Underweight	Less than the 5th percentile
Normal or healthy weight	5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile
Overweight	85th to less than the 95th percentile
Obese	Equal or greater than the 95th percentile

In addition to having a high BMI, obesity can cause issues such as:

Breathlessness	Increased sweating
Snoring	Inability to cope with sudden physical activity
Feeling tired every day	Back and/or joint pain
Low confidence and self-esteem	Feeling isolated

Furthermore, obesity can cause internal changes in your body that you may not notice right away, but are nonetheless potentially harmful to your health. High blood pressure and fat blocking your arteries (high cholesterol) can occur, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. In other cases, type 2 diabetes may appear alongside obesity. Its main symptoms include increased thirstiness, extreme fatigue and increased urination during nighttime.