Obesity

Obesity represents a complex relationship between genetic, psychological, metabolic, lifestyle and socioeconomic cultural factors. It is one of the most alarming medical conditions to affect a woman. Obesity in the recent times has taken the status of a global epidemic, posing as a universal threat cutting across boundaries and socio-economic strata.

Weight loss is the primary focus when you find yourselves overweight standing on your bathroom scales. But health experts say, 'Don’t go by the weighing machine' because what matters is your Body mass index (BMI) which is a way of relating your weight to your height. An ideal BMI is taken to be 20 and 25 and if your obesity count is more than 30 you are diagnosed with obesity. Being overweight is not a disease, but obesity is.

Excess weight not only makes regular activities in life difficult but it also leads to low self-esteem and body image problem. Besides that, obesity can lead to health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, liver and heart diseases, problems with the bladder and the reproductive system.

Moreover, some illnesses can lead to obesity or an inclination to put on weight. Conditions such as depression and certain neurological problems can lead to overeating. Consult your doctor to ascertain the underlying medical conditions that are causing weight gain or making weight loss difficult.

Causes

Genetic Factors: The body composition or metabolism varies from person to person. Even though the body weight and its variations are determined by the energy intake, the size of body weight and of its variations is determined by body composition and by its variations. 
This metabolic functioning of the body is co-related by the genetic factor as obesity is triggered off by dietary-induced thermogenesis (the process by which calories are converted to heat), lesser Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), subdued thyroid performance, decreased lipoprotein lipase activity, lower Basal body temperatures and decreased amount of metabolically dynamic brown fat. 

Psychological factors:  Psychological factors like stress, anxiety and depression also influence eating habits. It has been found that many women eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness, frustration or anger. This indication of binge-eating disorder is more often seen in severely obese, classifying it as one of the root cause of obesity.

More women over the age of 35, are overweight than men. Women as they go through three physiological transitions – menarche (the first menstrual period), pregnancy - lactation and menopause and at each of this threshold tend to put on weight.

Hormone imbalance: Moreover, contraceptive pills, full of steroids and water retentive hormones, also tend to make a women fat. Also, after 40s female hormones starts withdrawing and the body puts on weight. Moreover, the modern day trends of living – starting from office job to food patterns are major contributing factor in this rising global health threat.

Endocrine factors: The endocrine effect on body fat is witnessed both in physiological situations as well in pathological condition. Although, the standard fat content of women is about twice that of men; pregnancy is characterized by an increase in body fat. Therefore it is seen that obesity in women is initiated at puberty, during pregnancy or at menopause, which is normally if not perpetually, accompanied by Cushing's Syndrome, hypogonadism, hypothyroidism and hypopituitarian.

Symptoms
Obesity in women is as usual epitomized by the increase in body mass. Apart from the Body Mass Index (BMI) count, which is the ratio of body weight to height, there have been identifiable symptoms like appearance, shortness of breath, lack of energy level on the slightest physical exertion, snoring, back pain, pain in the knees, hips and joints etc.

Moreover, obesity induces the surfacing of related diseases and conditions like diabetes, gout, hypertension, cardiac problems, cancer, osteoarthritis, high cholesterol levels and sleep apnea among many others.

Research studies has revealed that there are many passive medical problems associated with obesity which may anticipate you with the feeling of being healthy  and show no symptoms, while you may still have health problems.

Diagnosis
Being overweight does not necessarily signify obesity. Obesity as a medical condition is diagnosed mainly on the basis of a rough-and-ready measurement called Body Mass Index (BMI) – weight in kilograms divided by the square of the individual’s height in meters (kg/m2).

An ideal BMI count is considered to be 24, while a woman is considered to be overweight when the BMI count ranges between 25 and 29. Obesity is diagnosed if the BMI count exceeds 30 or beyond. While in cases of morbid obesity, the BMI count goes beyond 40.

Preventions
You can curb obesity with some of the most successful of the strategies crafted for weight loss. These include weight loss by caloric restriction, diet intake with high carbohydrate and fiber but less fat content, increased physical activity, behavioral therapy and lifestyle changes.

• Diet and exercise has been considered the best possible prevention against obesity, but care should be taken that you burn your calories or fat while exercising instead of muscles. This can be done by choosing a moderate exercise for longer duration instead of faster pace.
•  And moreover, the diet intake should include fewer calories instead of just a reduction in dietary fat to control obesity.
• Once a weight loss therapy is adapted, measures should be taken for weight management in the next few months to prevent the lost weight from coming back.
• Brisk walking is one of the most comprehensive ways for weight loss and prevention of obesity.

Treatment
Women diagnosed with obesity require treatment like any other medical condition since it is considered to be the interface of a related chronic disease like hypertension, heart problems, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. In such cases, doctors recommend diet pills in conjunction to caloric restriction and graded exercise schedule so as to relieve the patient against the risk of being prone to related life threatening diseases.