Shed
weight, be slim and enjoy life !!
Obesity is not a disease. It is a lifestyle affliction. It is a
symptom. It is a side-effect of poor habits and it can be reversed.
Risks associated with Obesity
Obesity is an excess of body fat resulting in a significant impairment
of health and longevity . Obesity is
dangerous . Diabetes , hypertension ,
heart disease , arthritis , liver disease , cancers , psychological and sleep
disorders are associated with obesity .
Chronic kidney disease is three times more common in obese individual. Obesity
is also associated with kidney stone and cancer of kidneys . Mortality is
higher among obese people .
What cause Obesity
In a study conducted covering
many schools in Delhi, children of different socio economic groups ,
24.4 % children were found to be obese
in private schools while only 1.5% of children in government schools were obese
. This indicates that children of affluent society are prone for obesity . Why
is it so ? Childhood obesity is best tackled at
home through improved parental involvement, increased physical exercise, better
diet and restraint from eating.
Whatever we eat gives us
energy or calories. Different foodstuff
has different energy value , for example 100 grams of cucumber has 15 calories but 100 gms of jalebi has 300 Calories.
Also once ingested , Jalebi gives
instant energy while cucumber takes more
time to get assimilated .
We spend this energy in two ways – one , to maintain our basic metabolic processes like
respiration , heart beat etc and
secondly for activities like walking , running , weight lifting etc . We spend
100 calories for moderate pace walking for an hour .So eating 100 gms jalebi is
equivalent to walking for three hours ! So think of calories before we eat or
drink .
All junk foods like burger ,
noodles , ready to eat fast foods , samosa are rich in calories . Alcoholic beverages are also rich in calories
, 30 ml of whiskey contain 75 calories.
If we ingest more calories
than what we spend , we accumulate that energy in the form of fat.
Body mass index ( BMI )
Body mass index ( BMI ) tells
us about our nutritional status ,whether
malnourished or obese . BMI is calculated as weight in kilogram divided by square of height in meters ( weight
/ height 2 ). As per WHO ,
BMI below 18.5 is underweight , 18.5 to 25 normal , 25-30 overweight and more
than 30 is obesity . For Asians , more than 25 is considered as obesity .
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare along with the Indian
Council of Medical Research released updated guidelines (in 2012)
that a BMI over 23 kg/m2 is considered overweight. Further definitions:
Normal BMI: 18.0-22.9 kg/m2, Overweight: 23.0-24.9 kg/m2, Obesity:
>25 kg/m2.
Earlier , Obesity used to be
a sign of prosperity and limited to affluent class but now we consider it as a
sign of physical inactivity , because
obesity is seen even in poor and middle class people.
Excessive food intake and
inactivity is main reason for developing obesity. We hardly spend energy if we
just relax and watch television. Eating junk food while watching television or
playing mobile games is easiest way in
gaining calories i.e. energy.
Obesity leads to diabetes
Obesity is believed to account for 80-85% of the risk of
developing type 2 diabetes. Obese people are up to 80 times more likely to
develop type 2 diabetes than those with a BMI of less than 22 .
Adipose cells release ‘pro-inflammatory’ chemicals, which make
the body less sensitive to insulin by disrupting the function of insulin
responsive cells and their ability to respond to insulin.
This is known as Insulin resistance - the hallmark of type 2
diabetes.
Obesity leads to
Hypertension
Obese persons have enhanced sympathetic tone, activation of the renin-angiotensin system
(RAS), hyperinsulinemia, structural changes in the kidney, and elaboration of
adipokines (hormones produced in fat itself) such as leptin. Renal sodium
retention also increases. There is activation of the RAS in hypertension with
elevations of circulating renin, angiotensinogen, and angiotensin II.
The pressure of fat deposits
around the kidneys, coupled with increased abdominal pressure secondary to
central obesity, has been suggested as an additional cause of disordered renal
sodium reabsorption.
Glomerular hyperfiltration observed in obesity sets the
stage for progressive glomerular loss and loss of renal function and associated
increases in arterial pressure.
Hypertension is associated
with well-known sequelae, including coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular
disease, renal insufficiency, atherosclerosis, left ventricular hypertrophy,
atrial fibrillation, and congestive heart failure.
Obesity damages kidneys
Multiple
mechanisms have been postulated whereby obesity directly impacts kidney disease
including hyperfiltration, increased glomerular capillary wall tension, and
podocyte stress .
Kidneys
are also damaged due to hypertension and diabetes due to obesity , increased
abdominal pressure on kidneys . Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis is also a
potential mechanism.
How to prevent or control obesity
To reduce obesity , one must
control eating food stuffs rich in calories , eat more of fibers , take fiber
rich foods more frequently to keep
hunger at bay and also exercise .Walking or cycling for 40 minutes daily for
most of the days of a week is a good
habit. This habit should start right from childhood.
The ancient proverb , ‘
breakfast like a king , lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper ’ holds true
for all. You can avoid obesity by following this simple rule. But this simple
rule is most difficult to follow . Group therapy is the best way to treat
obesity. A group of motivated obese people walking together , exercising
together and sharing each others food is a nice way to shed weight. This keeps
them motivated to loose weight without going into depression .
Once a person starts shedding
weight , diabetes and blood pressure get easily controlled , kidney disease
comes under control and arthritis can be avoided.
If you wish to enjoy life ,
just shed few pounds !
