Obesity

Obesity is caused by a wide variety of factors, and cannot usually be altered in the long term by following a simple physics-based equation. Many people are laboring under the misapprehension that if someone is overweight or obese, it is likely that they simply eat “too much” and exercise “too little”. The truth, however, is rather more complicated than that – there are a wide variety of genetic, physical and socioeconomic factors at play. Environment is also a factor in how much people eat and how much activity they undertake; for example, those in rural areas may not be able to walk or jog safely thanks to a lack of sidewalks. Those who are living in poverty cannot afford exercise clothes or a gym membership, and those who are ‘time-poor’ are not able to devote the time necessary to becoming more active.

A person can also be genetically predisposed to obesity, meaning that they are far more prone to putting on weight and find it even more difficult than most to lose it. Some illnesses and conditions also predispose a person to being overweight, and some medications have the same effect.

No scientists have yet been able to correctly and accurately define what a person’s Basal Metabolic Rate is, and it is well known in the scientific communities that the idea of ‘calories in, calories out’ as a weight loss method is at best overly optimistic and at worst completely impossible to either figure out or follow.

A person’s chance of developing obesity-related health problems cannot be diagnosed by looking at them, or even by simply weighing them. Different people require different balances of calories and physical activity to remain healthy, and a person’s outward physical size is not always – or even usually – an indicator of how healthy they are. There are two kinds of fat, usually referred to as being ‘subcutaneous’ and ‘internal’. ‘Subcutaneous’ fat exists underneath the skin, on top of the bones and muscles – this is the fat that causes a person to ‘look fat’. ‘Internal’ fat, on the other hand, is inside the body – usually surrounding the internal organs. It is this internal fat that causes people to suffer from the health problems that are usually associated with obesity (such as heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure), and the link between high concentrations of internal fat and someone who ‘looks fat’ is nothing like as strong as many people suppose it to be.

Many patients find it extremely difficult to lose weight, and 95% of those who do will have regained all or almost all of the weight lost within five years. By far the most scientifically backed up method of minimizing the economic burden of obesity-related diseases and illnesses seems to be simply to encourage everyone to eat a reasonably healthy balanced diet, to exercise with relative frequency, and not to overly concern themselves with their subcutaneous fat levels.

Genetic, socio-economic and environmental factors are by far the most likely reasons for a person to have become overweight or obese, and they are not things that it is possible to treat in a medical setting. Rather, it is important to bear in mind the results of the most recent and up to date studies, and concentrate on a patient’s health rather than on their overall body mass.

With realistic expectations and the Azia Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program, you can start losing weight. Call to schedule a free consultation. Medical weight loss in Birmingham, Alabama starts with one call to 205.980.7772.

Be sure to take a look at our medical weight loss plan.