Health risks of being obese and overweight

Introduction

Obesity and overweight are defined as excessive or accumulation of fat under the skin or surrounds visceral organ that may give impact on health(1). Obesity and overweight could cause more death than underweight. Obesity and overweight are significant health issues in these modern days as they cause a wide range of non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke and several cancers (2, 3). It affects in rising number of the population worldwide; for instance, in the United Kingdom, recent research found out that 24/100 men and 25/100 women were categorized as obese. Worldwide, overweight and obesity cause 2.8 million deaths years each year(2). Many studies had been conducted by the scientists worldwide to identify the health risks that are related to the prevalence of obesity and overweight among the population.

Risk Factors of Being Obese and Overweight.

The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is due to imbalance in the dietary intake and increasing sedentary lifestyles which cause high calories and fat value. Raising awareness among the public on the negative effects of excessive body weight is seen as the first step to encourage the public to take care of their own weight and to have better understanding about the associated risks. World Health Organization has provided a guideline on the methods to assess body weight based on the Body Mass Index( BMI) and Waist Circumference for adult and the use of Centile Graph for obesity in children. BMI is also used by most general practitioner to assess someone's weight in diagnosing whether their health is at risk or not. It is a measure of a person weight related to his/her height. Figure 1 is the guideline for body weight classification based on BMI readings : 

Prolonged sedentary lifestyle can exacerbate the adverse outcomes of being obese. It makes you more likely to have conditions including:

• Cardiovascular disease and Stroke.
• High blood pressure.
• Diabetes ( Type 2)
• Some cancers ( prevalence: colon, breast, kidney and esophagus)
• Gallbladder disease and gallstones.
• Osteoarthritis ( most affected areas: knee, hip, back)
• Gout.
• Breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing for short episodes during sleep) and asthma.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Studies had proven that there several factors that lead to obesity. There are :
• Genetics: If you came from "big" family, you should come out with weekly plan for diet and exercise. Due to inevitable genetic issue of being obese, one should  know that the genes also contributed to the amount of fat stored and its distribution in the body.
• Family Lifestyle:  Parents should portray a good lifestyle to their children like have a proper meal time, go out to the park together and exercise and less eating fast food. Some researches suggested that family members may have similar eating habits.
• Medications : Some drugs can lead to weight gain if the person doesn't follow the rule of eating it. These medications include some antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, diabetes medications, antipsychotic medications, steroids and beta blockers.
• Social and economic issues : Avoiding obesity is difficult if you don't have safe areas to exercise. Similarly, you may not have been taught healthy ways of cooking, or you may not have money to buy healthier foods
• Pregnancy : During pregnancy, a woman's weight necessarily increases. Some women find this weight difficult to lose after the baby is born.
• Lack of sleep : Not getting enough sleep or getting too much sleep can cause changes in hormones that increase your appetite. You may also crave foods high in calories and carbohydrates, which can contribute to weight gain.  
  
                                                                                                                                           
  To sum up, it appears  that being overweight and obese can lead to adverse health outcomes and may become fatal. Although being overweight is seen as a common issue among people these days, it somehow affects negatively on the human body physically and mentally. Early education and awareness among people are needed, specifically for parents to help monitor their children in their diet. For children who have been categorized as obese, they need to receive extensive treatment and care to reduce the probability of getting any associated diseases in the future. Regardless which level of society we belong to, each of us should have a healthy and balanced diet, exercise regularly and avoid sedentary lifestyle in order to gain better health to improved life-expectancy(5). Last but not least, a person who suffers from obese should seek help and motivation from any health professionals or general practitioner.