Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Obesity is a chronic disease affecting more and more children, adolescents, and adults:
Obesity rates among children in the US have doubled since 1980 and have tripled for adolescents.
The US Surgeon General has declared that obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the US. Approximately:
- 15% of children aged six to 19 are considered overweight
- Over 60% of adults are considered overweight or obese
- 35% of women and 31% are considered seriously overweight
How obesity ranks compared with some other health challenges in the US:
- about 75 million adults in the US with high blood pressure
- 78 million adults in the US with high cholesterol who are recommended medicine
- about 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the US have been associated with overweight and obesity
- 13 cancers associated with excess weight and obesity (Thyroid, Breast, Liver, Upper Stomach, Gallbladder, Pancreatic, Colorectal, Uterine, Ovarian, Kidney, Multiple myeloma, Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, Meningioma)
People with obesity in the US have higher health care costs than those of normal weight. With increased medical spending, obesity can become an economic burden on both public and private payers: 27% Physician visits and outpatient costs, 46% Inpatient costs, and 80% Spending on prescription drugs.
Causes of obesity are complex. There are many interrelated factors, such as:
- genetics: studies shown that you can inherit a tendency toward obesity
- 25% increase of being overweight if one or both of your parents are obese
- lifestyle: overeating in combination with a sedentary lifestyle, contributes to obesity, changing your behavior can affect these lifestyle choices
- metabolic: how you expend energy, or your body uses energy, differs from how someone else will, they are not the same for everyone
Obesity has a far-ranging negative effect on health. Each year obesity-related conditions cost over 150 billion dollars and cause an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the US. The health effects associated with obesity include, but are not limited to, the following: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, joint problems (including osteoarthritis), sleep apnea and respiratory problems, cancer, metabolic syndrome, psychosocial effects.
Treatment of obesity starts with setting goals. No two people are alike, so it’s important to create a weight-loss plan that works for you. Regardless of what treatment plan you follow, losing weight slowly will be more effective, and healthier over the long term because quick weight loss often spurs weight regain. Dr. Carter or Beth Barber, MSN, APRN-CNP, NP-C, are available to evaluate and help treat obesity as needed.
Given the chronic diseases and conditions associated with obesity, and the fact that obesity is difficult to treat, prevention is extremely important. A primary reason that prevention of obesity is so vital in children is because the likelihood of obese children becoming obese adults is thought to increase from about 20% at four years of age to 80% by adolescence.
Healthcare professionals are seeing earlier onset of Type 2 diabetes (normally an adult-onset disease), cardiovascular disease and obesity-related depression in children and adolescents. The longer a person is obese, the more significant obesity related risk factors become.
- Preventing Obesity in Infants: the longer babies are breastfed, the less likely they are to become overweight as they grow older
- Breastfed babies are 15% to 25% less likely to become overweight
- For those who are breastfed for six months or longer, the likelihood is 20% to 40% less
- Preventing Obesity in Children and Adolescents: generally due to, a lack of physical activity in combination with poor eating habits, with a number of steps to help
- You may require treatment by a Carter Clinic’s provider if your own efforts to lose weight have failed and/or if co-existing medical conditions make it crucial for you to lose weight. That treatment may include: medication to treat obesity-related health problems, behavioral changes to improve dietary habits and increase activity levels, and therapy to address any eating disorders (may also require medication).
- Preventing Obesity in Adults: improving your eating habits and increasing physical activity play a vital role, with a number of steps to help
- You may require treatment by a Carter Clinic’s provider if your own efforts to lose weight have failed and/or if co-existing medical conditions make it crucial for you to lose weight. That treatment may include: medication to treat obesity-related health problems, behavioral changes to improve dietary habits and increase activity levels, and therapy to address any eating disorders (may also require medication).
Losing weight is hard enough. Keeping it off presents its own challenges. Between 80% and 85% of those who lose a large amount of weight regain it. A theory is decreasing caloric intake to lose weight also decrease metabolic rate, making it more difficult to burn calories and lose weight over a period of months. A lower metabolic rate likely makes it easier to regain weight if you resume a more normal diet.
Working toward achieving a healthy weight for your height can:
- Lower your cholesterol
- Lower blood sugar levels
- Lower blood pressure
- Reduce stress on bones and joints
- Ease the workload on your heart
Keeping extra weight off requires as much effort and commitment as losing weight in the first place. Reaching your weight loss goals require changes in diet, eating habits, exercise and, in extreme circumstances, surgery.
Dr. Carter and Beth Barber, MSN, APRN-CNP, NP-C, are here to help prevent, treat, and guide each patient through their weight loss goals and/or needs.
Information Compiled and Collected from RethinkObesity.com and StanfordHealthCare.org