Obesity

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is certainly an important part of living well. Of course, for many people, this is easier said than done: losing weight can be a lifetime struggle with many emotional and psychological repercussions. The pressure to be thin can take a toll on one’s mental health, due to the emphasis on thinness in our culture, which is reflected in the high level of media attention to this issue and the peer pressure that many people, especially females, experience.

Furthermore, overweight people are often thought of as lacking willpower, being lazy, and not caring about themselves. Dieting can lead one to internalize this negative image by making one feel like a failure when the weight loss is less than expected or desired. Instead of blaming the unhealthy and ineffective diet, overweight people tend to blame themselves. Thus, a cycle of negative thinking ensues, and weight loss can become a losing battle on both the physical and emotional levels.

When individuals are serious about wanting to achieve a healthy weight and lifestyle, it’s important for them to be careful about their choice of shape-up plan because some may prove counter-productive. One must be wary of diets that make claims about combining or separating certain foods, eating specific foods because of their “special” properties, or using expensive supplements or procedures to "melt" fat away. Diets that make such claims are alluring because of the promise of rapid weight loss, but even if they do lead to a temporary weight loss, this is achieved only because the individual has made a concerted effort to eat carefully. In other words, the result is due to eating less, not to the “magical” properties of the diet. It is essential that one realize that for long-term weight reduction, a sustainable change in eating and exercising habits is the only real path to success.

If an adult has a Body Mass Index of 30 or higher, they suffer from obesity, a chronic and complex disease associated with an increased risk of developing health problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, high cholesterol, breathing problems, sleep apnea, cancer, gallstones, arthritis, blood vessel problems, skin infections and rashes, sex hormone problems, and more.

Obesity is the result of many factors. Although it was once thought that a lack of willpower with regards to eating and physical activity was the primary cause of obesity, it is now recognized that family influence, genetics (influencing basal metabolic rate and aspects of the energy balance equation), cultural, economic and psychological factors also contribute to becoming obese.

Because obesity is a chronic disease, it requires long-term management. A reasonable approach begins with a goal of reducing the weight-related health problems. Medical follow-up is necessary to monitor the effects of obesity and to ensure that weight loss occurs in a healthy manner. Of course, most people are motivated as much or more by psychological reasons (looks, self-esteem) as they are by health improvement. Treatment should focus on the psychological and social components of obesity, as well as providing appropriate eating and exercise plans.