What Your Signs of Obesity
are Telling You

Obesity is a measure of body fat. The standard measure of body fat is the Body Mass Index, or BMI. A person's height and weight are used to calculate the BMI. Anything over 30.0 is in the obese range. Scores of 40.0 or higher are extremely obese.

Recognizing signs of obesity is the first step towards making life changes. Excess weight can lead to serious health problems such as hypertension, heart attacks, and depression. Every pound lost is a step closer to better health.

Traditional causes of obesity are a sedentary lifestyle and overeating. The classic "couch potato" lifestyle does contribute to obesity, but it's only one of several contributing factors.

Genetics play a big part in weight gain. A person's genetic makeup can slow down a metabolism and more. Health issues play a big role in obesity. Hypothyroidism is a known cause of weight gain. In addition, medicines are a big culprit when it comes to putting on pounds.

A new area of study is focusing on the environmental factors that attribute to weight gain and obesity. Emotional and physical stress cause many health problems, including obesity.

Stress eating is one of the newest recognized factors in obesity. Eating because of stress is a cyclical experience for most over-eaters. To begin, a stress-or triggers the urge to eat. Once the person eats, the urge may be gone but depression will set in due to fear of weight gain or an inability to control eating behavior. This circle of stressful eating will begin again as the depression morphs into high levels of stress comforted only by food.

Stress eaters normally head for particular types of food. In times of high stress they look for high fat, high carbs, and high sugar foods. This causes its own downward health spiral – as they eat these fatty and sugary foods their bodies will secrete high levels of insulin that will be stored in the body as excess fat.

A diagnosis of obesity requires more than a good look in the mirror. A trained physician will conduct a physical exam and obtain a BMI measurement. Important information such as age of onset, family history, smoking, alcohol use, and other pertinent information is necessary for an accurate diagnosis.

Once a diagnosis is made a patient can begin to focus on major life changes. The treatments available can involve of course exercise, changes in diet, weight loss supplements, behavior therapy and modification, medication, and support. Understanding the early signs of obesity is the first step in recognizing the need to make a change.

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