Obese

Obesity is a familial disorder which causes early death. Daily exercise can prevent death.

What Is It?

Obesity is an excess of body fat.

It is difficult to directly measure body fat. Body mass index (BMI) is a popular method of defining a healthy weight. BMI should be used as a guide, along with waist size, to help estimate the amount of body fat. BMI estimates a healthy weight based on your height.

Your genetic makeup plays a significant role in your chances of becoming obese. However, you still maintain most of the control when it comes to your weight. Some rare genetic diseases make it almost impossible to avoid obesity.

Obesity increases your risk for:

• High blood pressure,

• High levels of blood sugar (diabetes)

• High cholesterol

• High triglycerides levels

Prevention

To prevent obesity and maintain a healthy body weight, eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly.

Preventing obesity is important, it prevent your life span from getting shorter. Once fat cells form, they remain in your body forever. Although you can reduce the size of fat cells, you cannot get rid of them.

Treatment

Weight reduction is achieved by:

• Consuming fewer calories

• Increasing activity and exercise

Structured approaches and therapies to reduce weight include:

• Regular exercise. To effectively lose weight, most people need to do moderate intensity exercise most days of the week. Add more activity during the day.

• Non-prescription diet pills. Over-the-counter diet pills often contain ingredients that can increase heart rate and blood pressure. It is not clear how effective they are in producing weight loss that can be maintained over time. Common side effects include feeling jittery and nervous and having heart palpitations. Some experts believe they may be associated with an increased risk of stroke.

• Prescription diet pills. To help you lose weight, your doctor may prescribe medications along with a calorie-restricted diet. Almost all people regain...