What Causes Obesity?
People often talk about weight problems being due to their metabolism but really it is about being active enough to burn up the calories or energy you take in each day in the form of food and drink. The best way to improve your metabolism is to exercise because regular exercise will allow you to burn up energy and fat more quickly.
Is It My Genes, Doctor?
Obesity can run in families. Fat parents often have fat children and the reasons for this may be due to family dietary and exercise habits and attitudes to food, as well as lifestyle and behaviour. However, the possibility of a ‘fat gene’ is the subject of much research. This fat gene may have given people a survival advantage in famine times. Nowadays, though, having a fat gene may mean you can’t break down fat and sugars properly and you have a tendency to store fat. This definitely increases your likelihood of becoming obese. So if weight problems run in your family, beware. Forewarned is forearmed.
Obesity is also linked with educational status and socioeconomic group. In the nineteenth century, fatness was a sign of wealth and status, whereas in the twenty-first century Western world it is now associated with poverty.
The sedentary lifestyle and high-fat, large-portion diets of the Western world, so-called modern living, is helping to ensure that each generation is heavier than the last. This is called ‘passive obesity’.
Psychological and emotional factors govern our thoughts and feelings towards food. Comfort eating or a tendency to binge eat can also be factors in obesity. Much rarer causes of obesity would include medical conditions that affect the metabolism, such as an underactive thyroid gland or Cushing’s syndrome.
Key Measurements
Waist Circumference
Size does matter and measuring your abdominal circumference or girth with a tape measure is a reliable indicator of whether you are overweight or not. This is perhaps the most accurate indicator of central obesity, in other words the amount of fat stored around the belly. The bottom line is that excess fat around your waist means a greater risk of future health problems. This can be measured using a simple tape measure. Wrap it around from your back to your front at the level of the belly button. As a man, your waist circumference should be less than 37 inches. A waist circumference greater than 40 inches is definitely bad news and increases your risk of many health Viagra Store in Australia conditions, including heart disease. The higher your waist goes over 40 inches the greater the risk.