Excess weight: causes and ways to get rid of it

November 15, 2009

Hunger in developed countries ended a long time ago. As a result, to date, among the adult population in the world, there are already 500 million people whose body weight is much higher than normal. Our compatriots are not lagging behind either.

Hunger in developed countries ended a long time ago. As a result, to date, among the adult population in the world, there are already 500 million people whose body weight is much higher than normal. Compatriots are not lagging behind either. So much so that half of Russia’s able-bodied citizens

become overweight or even obese.

Statistics compiled by the World Health Organization are disappointing. Only 60 percent of those who are overweight will live to be 60 years old, 30 percent to 70, and only 10 percent to 80. But no one says that this life will be pleasant.

How to give up excess sugar

Tea with sweets is a common ritual. But the amount of sugar in the diet must be reduced - it leads to excess weight. Find out how you can control your sugar calories.

Heart and blood vessels

primarily affects the cardiovascular system

.
It increases the chance of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, by 70 percent. An inevitable increase in cholesterol levels in the blood leads to angina pectoris
, a disease that begins with chest pain due to a lack of oxygen flow to the heart muscle. And in our country, cardiovascular diseases and stroke are the main causes of death or disability.

What you need to know about metabolism for weight loss

The metabolic process is extremely important for losing weight. The more intense the metabolism, the faster calories are burned, and the more effectively a person loses weight. There are ways to speed up your metabolism. To increase the speed of metabolic processes, you need to give up junk food, switch to proper nutrition, eat often in small portions, eat more vegetables and fruits, drink plenty of fluids, and exercise regularly.

To increase metabolism, special pharmaceutical drugs are used, but it is better not to take them without a doctor’s recommendation. Instead, you should add foods that speed up your metabolism to your diet:

• Apple vinegar;
• Coconut oil;
• garlic;
• hot spices;
• cinnamon;
• ginger;
• apples;
• citrus;
• seafood;
• whole grains.

Diabetes

Overweight people are more likely to develop diabetes

doubles, especially after 40 years. Typically they suffer from type 2 diabetes, which is sometimes called diabetes of obese people. The level of insulin in the blood often remains normal, but due to obesity, the body cells cannot fully use it. As a result, glucose is practically not processed by the body and accumulates in the blood. Type 2 diabetes develops gradually, and obese people pay attention to its symptoms quite late.

Causes of obesity and excess weight

Typically, obesity does not occur due to the manifestation of one factor, but is the result of many causes. But, at the heart of all the causes of excess weight is an imbalance in energy balance - this is the basic principle of physics that regulates weight intake and loss.

When the body absorbs more energy from the outside than it spends on physical activity and its vital functions, it stores fat. Conversely, by reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity, a negative energy balance is achieved, which leads to weight loss.

Although the principle itself is simple, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can sometimes be a challenging task. Research into how physiological, behavioral, and other factors influence a person's energy balance is critical to developing and implementing weight management interventions.

The occurrence and development of obesity is an imbalance between the amount of energy received from food and the amount of energy that a person spends during life. Unspent, excess calories are converted into fat. Over time, fat accumulates in the subcutaneous tissue, abdominal wall, omentum, and internal organs. The more accumulation, the higher the body weight. Excess weight leads to numerous dysfunctions of all body systems.

Scientists have determined: 90% of obesity cases are a consequence of overeating, 5% are due to metabolic disorders.

Improper eating behavior is a consequence of disturbances in the control of behavioral reactions (hypothalamic-pituitary regulation). As a result, an excess of ACTH occurs (the hormone that produces cortisol: a regulator of carbohydrate metabolism in the body), and metabolism accelerates. The secretion of growth hormone decreases, hyperinsulinemia develops, a violation of the metabolism of thyroid hormones of the thyroid gland. A person develops metabolic syndrome, and in many cases its worst manifestation: diabetes mellitus.

The development of obesity occurs faster if a person:

• inactive lifestyle;
• physiological conditions (pregnancy, lactation, menopause);
• improper eating behavior (eating before bed, abuse of fats, carbohydrates, sweet, salty, alcoholic drinks);
• genetic disorders of enzymatic activity (increased activity of enzymes that break down fats);
• endocrine diseases (hypothyroidism, insulinoma, hypogonadism and some others);
• psychogenic overeating;
• lack of sleep and constant stress;
• taking hormonal and psychotropic medications (insulin, birth control pills, steroids and others).

Psychosomatic causes of obesity

Emotions have enormous power. They can suppress or, on the contrary, activate physiological processes. Eating is an emotion of pleasure. At the same time, for most people, pleasure comes not only from the feeling of fullness, but also from the very process of consuming certain foods.

Understanding this, people begin to perceive food not only as a source of physiological energy, but rather as a desirable object that allows them to enjoy taste, find peace, and save them from depression.

Year after year, the habit of “eating” stress and “healing” mental wounds develops. Food becomes a tool for psychological help.

Scientists have long proven that feelings of anxiety, resentment, and psychological stress cause the pancreas to produce an increased amount of insulin. Because of this, the level of glucose in the blood decreases, a feeling of hunger arises, and the person receives a signal about the need to urgently eat!

If psychological factors are constant, the situation only gets worse. The feeling of anxiety is constantly supplemented by a feeling of guilt (I have no willpower, I can’t pull myself together). But the feeling of guilt here is wrong. Even people with steely willpower cannot change everything at once in such a situation.

Trying to stop, a person triggers not only the economical and protective mechanisms of his body, but forces him to perceive literally all the valuable minerals and nutrients that enter him. In other words, even cottage cheese with 0% fat content will not save you from obesity. This is clearly visible when using diets. Every kilogram lost comes with great difficulty. At the same time, all these lost kilograms come back very easily, quickly and with a large premium. The body has experienced the stress of deprivation, it does not want a repetition of this stress, so it begins to protect itself and store fat reserves with a vengeance.

With such problems, it is almost impossible for a person to get rid of obesity. There are methods of psychological assistance for obesity that give a good effect (about 10% of excess weight is lost). But this effect is as short-term as that of diets. Healthy weight loss is only possible by reducing the number of calories in the diet, which means you need to give up “your favorite foods.” The same protective mechanisms are triggered.

The stress only gets worse. And to all this is added an irresistible desire to immediately eat the “forbidden fruit.”

As a result, food addiction only strengthens in the status of a pathological desire.

Cancer

According to WHO, 15-20 percent of people with cancer are overweight. Scientists have found that there are some types of cancer, the development of which is directly related to obesity.

. In men, this is cancer of the prostate, colon and rectum. And in women - cancer of the uterus, gall bladder, ovaries, breast and colon.

The most unpleasant thing for fat people is that early diagnosis of cancer is very difficult

. A thick layer of fat deposits reliably hides tumors. And often the tumor is found too late. Too thick a fat layer significantly complicates cancer treatment. For example, chemotherapy, because fat absorbs and blocks its active substance.

How to calculate your ideal weight

There are special online calculators to calculate your ideal weight. To get the result, you need to enter some data in the appropriate fields - age, weight, gender. Using a calculator, you can calculate whether your current weight falls within the normal range and how much it differs from the ideal. If you already have obesity, the calculator will show what degree it is.

Constitution type

When calculating your ideal weight, you need to take into account your body type. There are usually three types. The first is asthenic. This includes people with thin bones. Their ideal weight is closer to the lower limit of normal. At this weight they feel most comfortable and look good. The second type is normosthenics. These are people with an average build. The third type is hypersthenics. Their weight norm is at the upper limit of normal. If a hypersthenic person weighs the same as an asthenic person of the same height, then he looks exhausted, and his weight is considered insufficient.

Constitution type is important to consider when setting weight loss goals. To determine your type, you need to measure your wrist circumference. For women, the standards are as follows: girth less than 15 cm - asthenic; from 15 to 17 cm - normosthenic; more than 17 cm - hypersthenic.

Ideal weight

Ideal weight is an average standard calculated based on data - height, weight, age. There are various methods for calculating weight norms and ideal weight. Results may vary slightly. To find your individual ideal weight, it is better to focus not on specific numbers, but on the normal range and your feelings. If your weight is within the normal range, and you feel good, then you shouldn’t specifically lose weight or gain weight.

Breathing problems

Apnea often occurs due to excess weight

. Its main symptom is familiar to many – heavy snoring. In addition to sound effects, apnea is also accompanied by short-term stops in breathing during sleep. At this time, the body stops receiving oxygen, and after waking up the person feels sleep-deprived and exhausted. Subsequently, against the background of apnea, heart rhythm disturbances and vascular diseases may appear.

How to lose weight through sports?

Basic rules of training, diet and useful links in the material for those who want to learn how to lose weight correctly and reliably.

How quickly can you lose weight without harm to your health?

Proper, safe weight loss is a fairly lengthy process. Experts recommend not using diets with a sharp reduction in calories, but switching to a proper nutrition system and sticking to it constantly. Proper nutrition differs from diets in that with it a person receives all the substances the body needs, but does not overeat and does not consume unhealthy foods, sweet carbonated drinks, or alcohol.

By following the rules of a healthy diet, you can lose weight by reducing calories by about 500 g per week. For some, the process will go even slower - much depends on the individual characteristics of the body. If you want to speed up the process, you need to play sports, after consulting with your doctor. Absolutely healthy people are advised to use intense training in the gym or long runs in the fresh air. In this case, the weight will go away faster - from 1 kg per week. If you have chronic diseases that exclude increased physical activity, you should take up walking, swimming, and physical therapy. At the same time, weight loss occurs more slowly, but there will be no health risks.

It is important to understand that with proper and safe weight loss, body weight decreases slowly but surely. Making the transition to eating healthier can be challenging. Then the new diet system becomes a habit, the person becomes slimmer, more attractive, and much healthier. Physical activity, even not intense, also brings health benefits. And from strict diets that allow you to lose several kilos per week, there is only harm. After them, the body takes a long time to recover, there is a risk of getting diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or other body systems, and the kilos lost after leaving the diet return very quickly.

What else?

The above set of troubles is not all

.
People who are overweight are more likely to develop kidney and gallstones. Men suffer from erectile dysfunction, and women find it more difficult to get pregnant and carry a child to term. Obese people also suffer from simple household injuries much more often, not to mention the common occurrence of lower back pain. However, obese people have a good chance of avoiding serious health problems. Doctors believe that reducing excess weight by at least 10 percent
significantly reduces the risk of developing dangerous diseases. Negative weight changes are easier to prevent if you keep it under control. Register on our website and start keeping your own weight chart.

Tags:

• Heart and blood vessels
• Lifespan
• Diabetes
• Cancer

To leave a comment you must be an authorized user

Why does excess weight occur?

The problem often comes from childhood. Children overfed by their grandmothers grow into obese adults. Therefore, you should not force food into children!

Hereditary factors also play a role. Overweight parents are more likely to give birth to a large child, who will later also be overweight.

A sedentary lifestyle also leads to obesity.

Excessive nutrition. It has been proven that overweight people prefer to eat potatoes, meat with gravy, rolls, and sweets. These dishes are rich in carbohydrates, and they are stored in our body as fat reserves.

After childbirth. Many women during pregnancy “eat for two”, for themselves and for the baby. At the same time, they forget about a balanced diet. “I’ll lose weight when I give birth,” the expectant mother flippantly waves her hand.

In addition, pregnancy is always a limitation in movement. Pregnant women lead a sedentary lifestyle, which inevitably leads to weight gain.

During pregnancy, the body stores fat just in case, because expecting a baby is a huge stress for all its systems. This is how fatty layers appear on the thighs and abdomen.

Taking medications

Today, pharmacies sell many weight loss drugs. They affect differently and are divided into:

• reducing appetite;
• blocking the absorption of carbohydrates;
• with a diuretic or laxative effect;
• accelerating metabolism;
• removing waste and toxins.

Some drugs have a proven effect, others are biological additives without a proven effect. It is not recommended to select and use the products yourself. This should be done together with a weight loss specialist.

Diets

Weight loss specialists are, in principle, against any diets. Instead, it is recommended to switch to PP. But in some cases, light diets are allowed. They are used to immediately lose a certain amount of extra kilos, so that later with the help of PP they can maintain the result.

In some cases, the process of losing weight may stop, despite the fact that all the rules of nutrition and physical activity are followed. In such cases, light diets or fasting days are used to “stimulate” metabolism. As soon as the weight begins to decrease at the desired speed, it is better to abandon such methods.

Folk remedies

When using folk remedies for weight loss, you need to take into account that their effectiveness has not been scientifically proven, and they work only as part of an integral system, including diet correction, increased physical activity, and the development of motivation.

All folk remedies can be divided into several categories:

• procedures using thermal effects (baths, saunas, wraps, baths, hydromassage with a shower);
• decoctions and drinks with a cleansing effect (tinctures of linden, cherry leaves, buckthorn bark, oatmeal jelly, ginger tea);
• diuretics and laxatives (dried fruit mixtures, prune salad with kiwi, melon, infusions of chamomile, parsley, dill, green tea);
• diets using one or several products with a cleansing effect.