Maintaining a healthy routine, with daily exercise and eating low-calorie foods, is often not enough for an overweight or obese person to lose or maintain weight. This is due to the fact that obesity is a disease, which, in addition to being chronic, is multifactorial, that is, it goes beyond the factors that are under our control. Genetics, socioeconomic status and the environment in which you live, among other factors, influence the way the body consumes, spends and stores energy.
Overweight and Obesity
Obesity affects people of all ages, races, genders and social classes. In Brazil, according to the Ministry of Health, more than half of the adult population, 55.7%, is overweight, and 19.8% is obese.
Overweight and obesity develop over time when you take in more calories than you use, or when your energy intake is greater than your energy expenditure. This type of energy imbalance causes the body to store fat.
Obesity is determined by the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing weight (in kilograms) by the square of height (in meters). The result reveals whether the weight is within the ideal range, below or above the desired.
Those with a high BMI can aggravate or trigger a number of other diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and even cancer, in addition to psychological disorders such as low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. For women, it has an even more aggravating factor, obesity can increase the risk of infertility.
Causes of Obesity
Everyone knows someone who eats without restrictions and doesn’t get fat. At the other extreme, there are people who eat little and still fail to lose weight.
This is due to genetic influences. More than 400 genes have been implicated in the causes of overweight or obesity. Whether it’s affecting appetite, satiety (the feeling of fullness), metabolism, food cravings, body fat distribution, and the tendency to use food as a way to deal with stress.
The strength of genetic influence on weight disorders varies greatly from person to person. According to data from the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabology, genetics contributes 70% to the development of obesity, in addition to other environmental and behavioral factors.
Factors of genetic origin are associated with so-called sparing genes. When humanity lived by hunting and went for long periods without access to food, the sparing genes sent signals for the organism to accumulate as much energy as possible for survival during scarcity. The world has evolved, along with eating habits. However, even unnecessarily, the sparing genes continue to perform their function of storing energy, which can lead to excess fat in the body and obesity.
These genes are also responsible for the “accordion effect”, which occurs when a person regains weight after finishing a strict diet.
In addition to genetic factors influencing the predisposition to obesity, it is important to emphasize that environmental and behavioral factors are responsible for most cases of overweight and obesity.
The transformation of lifestyle, over the decades, has changed eating habits. Industrialized products, rich in fats and sugars, are much more accessible. Modern work, increasingly ahead of computers and the various means of transport, lead to a sedentary lifestyle.
In addition, children and young people, for the most part, no longer play outdoors. Cultural influence, technology and fear of exposure to danger, put them more and more in front of screens and electronic games.
Obesity is a much more complex disease than you might think. Therefore, the search for specialized doctors and health professionals is essential for the success of the treatment.
For more information about the causes of obesity, as well as its diagnosis and the different types of treatments, visit the Saúde Não Se Pesa website. Since 2016, this movement led by the global company Novo Nordisk has helped the population to improve the quality of life and understand that the only standard that matters is the standard of health.
Source: CNN Brasil
