What is obesity?

According to the CDC, overweight is a condition of excessive fat deposits in the body, whereas obesity is a chronic, complex, multifactorial disease defined by excessive fat deposits that can impair health and quality of living. According to WHO, obesity and overweight can be measured in terms of BMI(Body metabolic Index), a simple index of weight to height, calculated as weight(kg) divided by the square of height(mts). Based on BMI, obesity can be classified as normal from 18.5 to 24.9, categorised as overweight if more than 25, obese if more than 30, and grouped as morbidly obese if more than 40.

Is obesity really a health burden?

In 2009, 23.2% of the world’s adult population was overweight, and 9.9% was obese. In 2015, this number increased to 1.9 billion and 609 million adults were overweight and obese, respectively. Over 39% of the world’s population obesity rate have increased in all ages and both genders, irrespective of geographical locality, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. And this number is going to increase by 2030. According to the world obesity federation, India has the third-highest percentage of obese people, with 12% men, 40% women. Kerala has the highest state with 65.4% obesity, Punjab has 62.5%, Delhi 59%, MP 25%, and Jharkhand 23%. As per NFHS-5, 6.4% women and 4% men aged between 15-49 years are obese. As per The Lancet, a medical journal, it has been estimated that 380 crore people, over half of adults globally,74.6 crore over 1/3rd of children and adolescents worldwide will be overweight and obese by 2050. Thus, obesity and overweight are an important clinical and public health burden worldwide.

What causes obesity?

Often obesity results from genetic(e.g. Bandet-Biedl syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome), behavioural, metabolic and hormonal influences on body weight. It results from a combination of causes and contributing factors, like 1) family and genetic predisposition. 2) Lifestyle choices like high calorie intake, junk food, added sugars and beverages, physical inactivity, etc. 3) Some medications like antidepressants, anti-anxiety steroids, OCPs, OHA, anti epileptics. 4) Poor quality sleep.

What can obesity do to our bodies?

Obesity, characterized by excessive body fat, is a serious health issue with numerous consequences, like increased risk of cardiovascular events, stroke, sleep apnea, certain cancers(breast cancer, colon cancer), fatty liver disease, and metabolic syndrome. Above all, this obese person faces the social stigma, discrimination and negative social interaction leading to depression, anxiety, which consequently impact the quality of life.

Is obesity treatable?

The goal of obesity treatment is to reach and stay at a healthy weight. And the mainstay of this treatment is to change lifestyle to such as diet and exercise. But for morbidly obese patients (BMI>40), bariatric surgery or an intragastric balloon is advised.