Obesity is a chronic health problem that affects 1 in every 4 adults in the UK. Worryingly, the number of people affected by obesity in the UK is set to rise to 1 in every 2 people by 2050.
A person is classified as being obese if they have an unhealthy amount of body fat. A woman is classified as being obese if her body fat makes up 40% or more of her total body weight. A man is classified as being obese if his body fat makes up 30% or more of his body weight.
Obesity, like high blood pressure, is a chronic illness, which affects people lifelong.
During human evolution, having stored fat was essential to allow people to survive periods of famine. Our bodies have several powerful defense mechanism to protect its fat stores and to go back to the highest weight that you have ever reached. When we try to lose weight, by going on a diet or by exercising, losing weight becomes increasingly difficult and the weight will come back on as soon as you reduce your efforts to keep it off.
A person with obesity is at increased risk of developing several other severe diseases such as heart disease. It is important that people with obesity are aware of obesity-linked health problems and request relevant health checks from their GP.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), the American Medical Association and the Canadian Medical Association now recognise obesity as a chronic progressive disease. People with obesity need lifelong support in order to maintain a healthy body weight. Weight management should never be about how much or how fast you can lose weight - what matters is finding a lifestyle that means you can keep your weight as low as possible whilst living a life that you can enjoy.
Many people think that the amount of body fat you have is determined simply by how much you eat and by how much you move. But we now know that obesity is a complex illness that is caused by a combination of factors including your genes, environment, stress, emotional health, amount of sleep, medical problems or even the medications that you are taking. Even with the same diet and the same amount of physical activity, people will have different amounts of body fat and where in the body this fat is stored will vary. Behaviour, environment and genetics are among the main contributors to obesity.
Environment plays a key role in shaping an individual’s habits and lifestyle. Your environment can directly influence your health. Today’s society has developed a more sedentary lifestyle. Walking has been replaced by driving cars, physical activity has been replaced by technology and nutrition has been overcome by convenience foods. These changes mean that it is easy to adopt unhealthy behaviours including poor food choices and low levels of physical activity. The net effect is that we are consuming more calories and using less and the body stores these excess calories as fat.
Science shows that genetics play an important role in obesity. Genes can lead to certain disorders, which result in obesity. However, not all individuals who are predisposed to obesity become obese. Research is currently underway to determine which genes contribute the most to obesity.
