Obesity and its treatment

What is obesity? What consequences does it entail?

Obesity is an increased content of fat in the body, which is associated with a metabolic disorder. To a greater or lesser extent, the problem of obesity affects half of humanity. And the higher the age, the more common this problem is. So, at a young age (up to 30 years) there are 5-20% of obese people, at the age of more than 40 years, only half of the population has an impeccable weight. Among women, this percentage is higher than among men.

Obesity carries a lot of health problems, such as low life expectancy, cancer, joint problems, heart problems, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol. In addition to health problems, excess weight brings psychological and aesthetic problems – less employment opportunities, social inequality, low self-esteem and depression, etc.

The three main types of obesity

There are more types of obesity, but among all types there are 3 main types of obesity: mixed (or banana), apple and pear.

1.First-degree obesity is called mixed (or banana). It is characterized by a uniform distribution of excess fat throughout the body.

2. The second degree-according to the type “apple” (or male type). In this case, excess fat is deposited, as a rule, in the abdominal area. This type of obesity is the most dangerous for health, as it affects the work of all internal organs.

3. Finally, the third degree is femoral-gluteal, according to the “pear” type (in other words, the female type). With it, the excess is deposited mainly on the thighs and buttocks. This leads to diseases of the spine, legs, and joints.

How to determine your type of obesity

In order to determine the degree of obesity, you need to measure the circumference of your waist slightly above the navel and the circumference of your hips along the most prominent parts of the buttocks. If the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference was more than 0.8 for women and 0.9 for men, then you are an “apple”, if less than the specified one, you are a “pear”.

Scientists have concluded that 90% of overweight people have primary obesity, that is, not related to other diseases, only 5% of people have obesity – a consequence of problems with the endocrine or nervous systems.

Causes of obesity

There are many reasons for the appearance of obesity. The most common and simple – poor nutrition, and starting from the first year of life. Remember: over-feeding or excess fat and carbohydrates in your children’s food leads to the growth and accumulation of fat cells in them.

Another common cause of obesity is inactivity, or reduced physical activity, or a sedentary lifestyle. Also, obesity develops after some infectious diseases, for example, mumps.

This is why the prevention of obesity should ideally begin in infancy. Children of the first year of life need to create the right conditions for active wakefulness, it is necessary to ensure a rational diet (monitor the quantity, quality and time of food intake), it is also necessary to organize sufficient motor activity, constant monitoring of the dynamics of body weight and growth.

Compliance with these rules should be carried out not only in kindergartens, but also at home, for which work with parents should be carried out in preschool institutions.

If a child of the first years of life has an excess body weight or the weight has started to grow sharply after the disease, parents should consult an endocrinologist.

Tips for fighting obesity

And for those who decided to start the fight against obesity at home, we will give some useful tips:

1. Reduce the caloric content of your diet by 100-200 kcal. At the same time, try to make your body burn 200-300 kcal more every day than on normal days. To reduce the caloric content of your daily diet, you can limit the use of some foods and increase others. Namely:

• limit the use of fast carbohydrates, especially sugar, products made from white flour, they are easily deposited in fat;
• limit animal fats by 50 percent. This does not mean that the diet will become fat-free. In the diet, animal fats are replaced by vegetable fats, which are able to activate the process of spending their own fat reserves in the body;
• create a feeling of fullness, this can be done by increasing the diet of low-calorie, but high-volume food – fruits, raw vegetables, whole grain products.

2. Switch to a fractional diet (from 4 to six times a day), it helps to fight hunger. The daily diet with this diet is divided into six parts, they are eaten at regular intervals.

3. Avoid foods that excite the appetite: spices, spices, spicy snacks, smoked meats, pickles.

4. Try to adjust the amount of water you consume per day. A person needs 25-30 ml of pure water per 1 kg of weight, depending on climatic conditions. The water should be mostly clean drinking water.

5. Limit the amount of salt consumed per day to five grams.

These were tips for those who begin to fight such a disease as obesity at home.

At the same time, remember that in the treatment of obesity, reducing the caloric content of the diet must be combined with physical activity and spend an additional 500 kcal per day. And, despite the fact that during the treatment you have to give up some foods, your diet should be enough protein, fat and foods that contain fiber. In order to find out the fastest way to fight excess weight, it is best to seek advice from a nutritionist.