When the power taken with food is more than the power spent, this energy is stored as fat in the body. When this situation occurs for a long time, the fat rate in the body increases intensely. The intense increase in fat mass compared to the height of the individual is called obesity. Obesity can also be defined as a body mass index of more than 30. Body mass index is the ratio of an individual's body weight in kilograms divided by the square of his/her height in meters. Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization as the accumulation of fat in the body in a way that adversely affects health. At this point, obesity can cause physical and psychological health problems according to many studies. Treatment of obesity and health problems caused by obesity is available.
Obesity is an abnormal weight gain in the body. This intense weight gain can cause many functions in the body to be damaged or unable to function. In this respect, obesity has many harms to individuals. The first of these harms is the disorders associated with the disruption of the functioning of the functions in the body. For example, obesity can increase the danger of diseases such as sugar resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. On the other hand, it causes breathing problems that affect the respiratory system. In addition, increasing body weight can cause leg pains in individuals and limit their mobility. This situation can also invite discomfort in the legs.
Excessive fat mass also affects hormones due to the structure. Affecting hormones affects the reproductive system of men and women. For example, obesity in men, which is generally characterized by abdominal fat, affects testosterone production. In women, increased fat in the hips and thighs can affect the female reproductive system. In addition to this, the fact that pregnant women are overweight when they start pregnancy can pose various dangers compared to a normal weight individual and can also affect the baby.
Obesity is not only physically damaging but also psychologically damaging. First of all, it can lead to anxiety and depression due to concerns about appearance caused by increased weight. Depression caused by obesity can lead to psychologically based disorders such as binge eating and anorexia nervosa.
Physical Health Problems Caused by Obesity
According to research, obesity has been found to cause many chronic diseases. A few of these physical problems are as follows;
Insulin resistance: The first of the physical problems associated with obesity is insulin resistance. The hormone insulin ensures that the amount of sugar rising in the blood after food consumption is taken into and used by the cells and regulates the sugar ratio in the liquid blood. At the point where the insulin hormone balances blood sugar, it causes its function to be blocked. Insulin resistance can cause diabetes in the future.
Heart disease and high blood pressure: The other health problem is high blood pressure. Blood sugar that cannot be balanced in terms of insulin causes intense blood pressure. With this situation, rising blood pressure prepares the ground for the danger of heart disease and stroke.
Digestive system disorders: Obesity can lead to fatty liver, gallbladder and kidney disorders, which are digestive system disorders. The liver ensures that the high force in the body is converted into fat. When a large amount of fat is converted into fat, some of it is stored in the liver area. This condition, also called fatty liver, causes the functions of the organ to fail. In this case, the liver is the beginning of bile problems.
Hormonal effects: There are studies showing that it has an effect on obesity and the male-female reproductive system. In particular, it has been observed that most women with polycystic ovary syndrome, menstrual irregularities and abnormal changes in hormones are obese. The disorders associated with obesity in men are male hormone deficiency, erectile dysfunction, infertility and prostate disorders.
Sleep apnea: There is research linking obesity with sleep apnea. It is caused by the inability to breathe comfortably due to excessive weight gain, interrupted sleep at night, and feeling tired during the day.
Cancer: There are studies showing that obesity is linked to cancer.
When obesity is treated, the effect rate of many of these health problems decreases or completely disappears. Therefore, in order to treat obesity and physical health problems caused by obesity, it is necessary to consult doctors who specialize in their field.
Psychological Causes of Obesity
Obesity is a common disorder today and causes many physical ailments as well as some psychological health problems. These can be seen as depression, anxiety problems, eating problems.
Depression Depression is one of the psychological problems usually seen in obese individuals. Obese people generally lose control over their bodies, lack of sense of self and guilt psychology. This can lead to feeling lonely in the social environment because of their appearance in general. The regret of consuming too much and the return to intensive nutrition to suppress the psychological problem caused by this situation repeats itself over and over again. Therefore, depression, anxiety and obesity can be both the cause and the consequence of each other. Therefore, treatment of obesity and depression should be planned together.
Anxiety Disorder: Anxiety is another psychological problem caused by obesity. Disturbance in perception caused by obesity leads to a loss of self-esteem in the individual. The sense of self is one of the main reasons that affect the individual's attitudes and behaviors in society. A decrease in self-esteem may lead to obesity-related anxiety problems, especially in social relationships.
Eating Disorders: One of the problems caused by obesity is eating disorders. Eating disorders can be evaluated as problems such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa, eating too much and eating at night. Anorexia usually occurs in adolescent girls because of intense visual anxiety. During nocturnal eating disorder, the person interrupts their sleep and eats several times a night, and this is linked to the fact that it is repeated at least 2-3 times a week.