Obesity and overweight

Overweight and obesity are defined as an increase in the size and amount of fat cells in the body.

Overweight and obesity are caused by many factors, such as dietary habits, lack of sleep or physical activity, the use of certain medications, as well as genetics and family history.

Obesity is a chronic health condition that increases the risk of heart disease and is associated with many other health problems, including type 2 diabetes and cancer.

In Europe, 531 TP3T adults are overweight (BMI >25).

Health care providers use body mass index (BMI) to screen adults for overweight and obesity. BMI is a measure of body weight based on height and weight, defined as body mass (in kilograms) divided by the square of body height (in meters) and expressed in units of kg/m². But there is more to obesity than BMI.

Unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as insufficient physical activity and consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages, can increase the risk of overweight and obesity.

Some people find that they gain weight when they start taking medications for diabetes, depression, or high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor before considering stopping any medication.

Lifestyle changes that can reduce weight include following a healthy eating plan, reducing calories and unhealthy saturated fat, and increasing physical activity. Gastric reduction surgery may also be a treatment option, but it is not available to everyone.

Symptoms and diagnosis

There are no specific symptoms of overweight and obesity. Your healthcare professional can diagnose overweight and obesity based on your medical history and high body mass index (BMI). Your provider may also order tests to rule out other health problems.

Body mass index

Your BMI is a measure of body fat based on your weight and height. It is important to know that body mass index is a screening tool and does not necessarily diagnose body fat. Other related measures, such as waist circumference, are used to assess a person's health and risk of overweight and obesity.

BMI categories for adults

• Underweight with a BMI of less than 18.5
• A healthy weight is a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9
• Overweight with a BMI of 25 to 29.9
• Obesity with a BMI of 30 or greater

BMI categories for children

For children, height and weight are shown in percentiles. A child's BMI percentile is calculated by comparing a child's BMI with growth charts for children of the same age and sex.

• Underweight is a BMI below the 5th percentile.
• A healthy weight is a BMI between the 5th and 85th percentile.
• Overweight is a BMI between the 85th percentile and 95th percentile.
• Obesity is BMI at or above the 95th percentile.

Unhealthy distribution of body fat

To better understand the health risks that overweight and obesity may pose to an individual, providers can measure a person's body fat distribution. Your BMI may be normal, but if you have a large waistline, you may have more fat in your belly than anywhere else.

• For men, an unhealthy waist circumference is greater than 100 cm.
• For women, an unhealthy waist circumference is greater than 89 cm.

Adipose tissue is found in different parts of the body. Adipose tissue produces hormones, cushions joints and stores energy.

However, depending on where the fatty tissue is found, it can do more harm than good. The fatty tissue found inside the abdomen is called visceral or belly fat. We don't know what causes the body to create and store visceral fat. But we do know that this type of fat interferes with your body's endocrine and immune systems. It also promotes inflammation and contributes to obesity-related complications, including heart disease and diabetes.

Research into the causes of overweight and obesity

Sometimes other health conditions or medications you are taking can cause you to be overweight and obese. These conditions or medications can disrupt the delicate balance of hormones that control how we use and store energy. A healthcare professional may order blood tests to rule out one of these conditions.

• Cushing's syndrome is a disorder that occurs when your body produces too much of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Hypothyroidism is a condition in which your body does not produce enough thyroid hormone. This slows down your body's use of energy (food), called metabolism.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that affects the ovaries and causes a hormonal imbalance. PCOS can also be ruled out with an ultrasound, a test that uses sound waves to create images of organs.

Prevention

You and your child may visit a health care professional once a year to monitor changes in body mass index (BMI). A specialist may recommend lifestyle changes if BMI regularly increases. This is to prevent you or your child from becoming overweight or obese.

What factors contribute to a healthy or unhealthy weight

Many factors can contribute to a person's weight gain. This includes:

• Behavioral or lifestyle habits such as lack of physical activity, sedentary work, poor diet and poor sleep patterns
• Environment, such as where you live and your family's lifestyle habits
• Economic factors that can affect the foods you can afford and other lifestyle habits
• Family history and genetics
• Metabolism (how your body turns food into energy)

In addition, people from communities with fewer resources, food insecurity, or other similar problems tend to have a higher risk of obesity. A funded study has shown that unhealthy lifestyle habits can worsen the risk of obesity in people with a genetic risk of obesity. You cannot change some of these factors; For example, the genes you inherit from your parents determine how tall you are. But you can replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones.

What healthy habits prevent overweight and obesity

If your BMI indicates you are approaching overweight or you have certain risk factors, a health professional may recommend lifestyle changes to help prevent overweight and obesity. Such changes may include eating a healthy diet, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress, and getting enough quality sleep.

Causes and risk factors of obesity

Overweight and obesity can develop over time when you consume more calories than you burn. This is also described as an energy imbalance: when your energy (calories) in is not equal to your energy (calories your body uses for things like breathing, digesting food, and physical activity).

Your body uses certain nutrients such as carbohydrates or sugar proteins and fat, from the foods you eat to produce and store energy.

Food is converted into energy that can be immediately used to fuel daily body functions and physical activity.
Food is stored as energy that your body can use in the future. Sugars are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Fat is mainly stored as triglycerides in adipose tissue.

An energy imbalance causes your body to store more fat than it can use now or in the future. But there's more to your risk of becoming overweight or obese than how much you eat. It also includes the types and amounts of food and drink you consume each day, your level of physical activity (such as whether you sit at an office desk or are on your feet all day) and how much good quality sleep you get each night.

All of these factors, as well as many others, can contribute to weight gain.

What causes the risk of overweight and obesity

There are many risk factors for overweight and obesity. Some are individual factors such as knowledge, skills and behaviour. Others are in your environment, such as your school, workplace, and neighborhood. In addition, your risk may also be influenced by the food industry and marketing, as well as social and cultural norms and values.

You may not be able to change all the risk factors for being overweight or obese. But it's important to know your risk so you can take steps to achieve a healthy weight and reduce your risk of obesity-related health problems, such as heart disease.

Lack of physical activity

A lack of physical activity combined with a high amount of TV, computer, video game, or other screen time was associated with a high body mass index (BMI). Most adults need at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. It is also recommended that adults do muscle-strengthening exercises 2 or more days per week, as these activities provide additional health benefits.

Children should get 60 minutes of aerobic activity each day.

Poor nutrition

Some unhealthy eating habits can increase the risk of being overweight and obese.

• Consuming more calories than you burn: The number of calories you need will vary depending on your gender, age and level of physical activity.
• Eating too much saturated fat: According to the Dietary Guidelines, the amount of saturated fat in your daily diet should not exceed 10% of your total calories. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that's about 200 calories or about 22 grams of saturated fat.
• Eating foods high in added sugar: Try to limit the amount of added sugar in your diet to no more than 10% of your total calories each day.

Superfood is one of the alternatives to supplement the body with the necessary nutrients:

Not getting quality sleep

Studies have shown a link between poor sleep—not enough sleep or not enough quality sleep—and a high BMI. Getting regular sleep at night can affect the hormone that controls hunger.

In other words, without good quality sleep, we may be more likely to overeat or fail to recognize our body's signals that we are full.

More about the importance of sleep can be found in the category – For sleep.

It is also possible to supplement the body with important substances that help you sleep better - For a peaceful sleep

High stress level

Long-term and even short-term stress can affect the brain and cause your body to produce hormones such as cortisol, which control energy balance and hunger. These hormonal changes can cause you to eat more and store more fat.

In the category that provides nutrients Peace of mind, can help you feel better.

Health status

Some conditions, such as metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome, cause people to gain weight. These health conditions must be treated in order for a person to approach or return to a normal weight.

Genetics

Some people tend to be heavier. Scientists have found at least 15 genes that influence obesity. Research suggests that genetics may play a more important role in obese people than in people who are overweight. For people with a genetic risk of obesity, healthy lifestyle changes can help reduce that risk.

Medicines

Some drugs cause weight gain by disrupting the chemical signals that tell the brain that you are hungry. Chickens:

• Antidepressants
• Antipsychotic drugs
• Beta blockers used to treat high blood pressure
• Contraceptives
• Glucocorticoids, which are often used to treat autoimmune diseases
• Insulin, which is a hormone used to control blood sugar levels in people with diabetes

Talk to your health professional if you notice weight changes while taking one of these medicines. Ask if there are other forms of the same drug or other drugs that may treat your condition but have less of an effect on weight.

Environment

Your environment can contribute to an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity. Your environment includes all the parts where you live and work – your home, the buildings where you work or shop, streets and open spaces. The types of restaurants and the amount of green space can contribute to overweight and obesity.

Research has shown that access to sidewalks and green spaces can help people be more physically active, and grocery stores and farmers markets can help people eat healthier. On the other hand, people who live in neighborhoods with more fast food restaurants and inaccessible sidewalks are more likely to be overweight or obese.

Treatment

If you are diagnosed as overweight or obese, you and a health professional will work together to develop a treatment plan. Your plan will likely include reducing the number of calories you eat each day, becoming more physically active, and making lifelong healthy lifestyle changes.

The goal of your treatment plan is to reduce your risk of obesity-related complications and improve your quality of life. Depending on your body mass index (BMI) and other medical conditions, nutritional counseling, behavioral weight loss treatment programs, medication, or surgery may be considered.

Healthy lifestyle changes

To help you achieve and maintain your optimal weight, you may be encouraged to make lifelong healthy lifestyle changes. Losing weight from 5% to 10% can significantly improve your health and quality of life.

• Choose heart-healthy foods. In order to maintain an optimal weight, it is important to eat the right amount of calories. If you need to lose weight, try to gradually reduce the total number of daily calories. Check out healthy recipes and plan for success.
• Do regular physical activity. Health benefits are related to physical activity and the recommended amount of physical activity needed each week.
• Get enough good quality sleep. Studies have shown a link between sleep deprivation and obesity that starts as early as infancy. Experts recommend for adults from 7 up to 8 hours of sleep per night.

Habits

Research has shown that there are areas of your brain that respond to pleasure. The chemicals are released when this part of the brain is stimulated by something we really enjoy, like eating food. Stimulation makes us feel good. Research suggests that these connections may be stronger in some people than others, which may explain why some people have a harder time losing weight.

Devices

For example, in America, three weight loss devices are approved for adults. About half of people who undergo implant procedures with these devices lose at least 5% of their original body weight as a result of the devices.

• Gastric balloons placed into the stomach through a swallowable capsule attached to a thin catheter or through an endoscope (a long flexible tube with a small camera and a light at the end). Then, depending on the device, the cylinders can be filled with gas or liquid (such as salt water) and sealed. Later they are removed.
• Stomach rings are surgically implanted around the stomach, limiting the amount of food a person can eat at one time and increasing digestion time. It helps people eat less.
• Gastric emptying systems involves a tube inserted into the stomach through an endoscope and a port that is placed against the skin of the abdomen. The tube drains some of the stomach contents into a container 20-30 minutes after a meal. The device is removed when the patient reaches their target weight.

Your doctor will monitor you for pain, vitamin deficiencies, anemia, persistent nausea and vomiting, intolerance to solid foods, and inability to lose weight. These complications can be treated if they occur.

How to lose weight

Achieving and maintaining long-term weight loss is challenging. It's important that you stick with your plan and make healthy lifestyle changes that you can maintain for the rest of your life. This will help prevent obesity-related complications.

Tips for managing overweight and obesity

Changing lifestyle habits takes time and patience. Follow these tips to help you stick with your healthy lifestyle changes.

• Use the app on your phone, to record your daily food intake and physical activity.
• Weigh yourself every day. Weighing yourself daily has been shown to help many people with initial weight loss as well as long-term weight loss.
• Set specific goals. An example of a specific goal is "walk for 30 minutes, 5 days a week" or "eat a serving of vegetables with every meal". Be realistic about your time and abilities.
• Set achievable goals, which do not change too much at once. When starting a new lifestyle, try not to change too much at once. Slow change leads to success. Remember that quick weight loss methods do not provide long-term results.
• Learn from your experience. Don't worry if work, weather or family cause you to slip up every now and then. Remember that changing your lifestyle is a long-term process. Find out what caused the "slip" and restart your eating and exercise plan.
• Celebrate your success. Reward yourself along the way when you reach your goals. Instead of eating to celebrate your success, try a night in with your favorite series, shop for workout clothes, visit the library or bookstore, or go for a hike.
• Recognize what tempts you. Find out what environments or social activities, such as watching TV or going out with friends, may be preventing you from reaching your goals. Once you identify the problems, think creatively about what can help.
• Plan for regular physical activity with friends Find a fun activity that you enjoy, such as Zumba, jogging, biking, or swimming. You're more likely to stick with that activity if you and your friends commit to doing something tough together.

How obesity affects health

Overweight and obesity can directly cause various health problems and indirectly increase the chances of other health problems. The good news is that 5-10% weight loss has significant health benefits.

The following complications may occur:

• Metabolic syndrome
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke
• High cholesterol in the blood
• Breathing disorders including asthma, sleep apnea and obesity hypoventilation syndrome
• Increased risk of severe illness from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
• Back pain
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
• Osteoarthritis, especially in weight-bearing joints such as the knees, as the extra weight can damage the cartilage and bone
• Urinary incontinence, which occurs when the pelvic muscles, weakened by chronic (long-term) obesity, can no longer help maintain bladder control
• Gallbladder disease
• Depression or other mental health disorders
• Cancers such as pancreatic, colon, breast and liver cancer

Take care of your mental health

Overweight and obesity can cause depression or self-esteem problems in people of all ages, and especially in children and adolescents. Obesity and being overweight can also cause or be a symptom of an eating disorder.

Support from family and friends can also help reduce stress and anxiety. Let your loved ones know how you feel and what they can do to help.

It is important to rememberthat everyone's health is individual and there is no common recipe for everyone!

So, if you want to know what nutrients your body might be lacking right now, health professionals recommend a guide –  "Your Day".

• In time, pay attention to the signals sent by your well-being
• Replenish the body with natural minerals, vitamins and nutrients necessary for health.
• Enjoy energy and good mood everyday!

The information is prepared based on comprehensive publication.