Understanding Overweight and Obesity

Obesity is a problem that plagues every part of the world. It is defined as a situation where people consume significantly more calories than they expend in physical activity – which is the exactly the same as definition for overweight. Despite that, obesity and overweight are not quite the same. Overweight is the excess amount of body weight that includes muscle, bone, fat, and water, when obesity is the excess accumulation of body fat. This means one can be overweight without being obese, one example being a body builder.

Doctors say this is an illness for which prevention and reasonable and necessary diagnosis and treatment should be covered. In addition, strong clinical evidence shows that obesity is associated with increased mortality and morbidity and that weight loss in obese individuals can reduce risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Ok, so we have a case here, it is obviously a very dangerous situation and one that spurs all sorts of other problems as well. Some think it is a sickness, others say it’s a matter of lifestyle and habits. I have some scientific facts about this and research material that I hope will benefit anyone in this situation.

Obesity is associated with reduced self-rated gene, and many doctors think it is one of the few serious medical problems that can be reversed very, very quickly. It is a question of lifestyle; family affair skipped meals, too much TV time, factory food which contains a lot of salt, fat, sugar and other harmful ingredients. With that in mind, the most effective way to treat and prevent childhood obesity is to adopt a healthier lifestyle for the whole family.

Researchers created an obese mouse then returned it to its normal weight by turning on the SH2B1 gene in the brain. The investigators stopped the activity of this protein in the hypothalamus, the brain area used for eating, hunger, and energy balance. The mice genetically engineered to make extra SH2B1 didn't develop obesity even after eating a high-fat diet. It was discovered that in fat cells, the lack of SH2B1 gene increased fat storage, and the much larger fat cells led to a 2.5 times more body fat content than normal mice had. This shows clearly that obesity is an illness and can be treated medically, and I think this is good news.

Researchers have discovered that overweight women are more likely to lose their jobs, be a victim of crime and have money troubles. It has also been proven that waist circumference is directly associated with abdominal fat and can be used in the assessment of the risks associated with obesity or overweight. All this speaks in a favor of weight loss programs, diet and finding ways to keep one fit – life is short, it is not sensible to make it any shorter. Sometimes it’s necessary to change lifestyle and habits dramatically, because often people with similar eating and other habits hang out together.

However, it is a known fact that obesity increases the risk of all major diseases, including type II Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain forms of cancer. The increased cardio metabolic risk in obesity is at least partly mediated through low concentrations of high density (HDL) cholesterol and some other methods as well. It is likely that proper management of obesity, perhaps with a new generation of therapies directed at several targets in the lipid metabolism pathways, will correct these abnormalities, and favorably modify the risk, course and outcome of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Doctors and scientists work all the time to find new solutions and treatments to this problem.

There is a genetic component to weight gain and weight loss, but the main responsibility is on us. We need to watch what we eat and take this problem more seriously. The genetic component of risk for obesity seems to be complex, including genes that affect appetite, personality, as well as how fat is deposited. No major genes that cause obesity have been identified and research show it to be due to the influences of many different genes. But it is also clear that obesity is a public health issue that needs to be addressed.