Resumo de Dealing With Obesity

OBESITY
Obesity is mainly a condition in which excess fat has accumulated in the body. When the weight is 20% over the normal body-weight for height and age and the Body Mass Index or BMI has reached 30 or greater, the person is considered obese. Today, many doctors, physicians and organizations recognize obesity as a chronic disease and are developing treatments to help combat the condition.
Signs and Symptoms
Many social, cultural, behavioral, physiological, metabolic, and genetic factors that may cause obesity are generally out of the individual's control. Signs and symptoms of obesity include: shortness of breath, excess accumulation of fat, insulin resistance, increase in size or number of fat cells, increased blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, back pain, decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein and alterations in the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system.
Health Risks Associated with Obesity
Excessive amounts of fat in the body tissue can increase the risk and cause of a wide variety of severe health problems, from stroke to hypertension to dyslipidemia (high cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides), respiratory problems, cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, and gallbladder disease.
Treatments
There are a variety of treatments for obesity ranging from diet and behavior therapy to drugs and surgery. Most treatments depend on BMI levels, while others are a personal choice. Treatments include, diet therapy, physical activity, behavior therapy, prescription drugs, gastrointestinal surgery, dietary supplements and liposuction.
During diet therapy, a healthcare professional designs a custom diet and exercise plan. The surgeon general recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise each day for adults and 60 minutes each day for children. In order to lose a significant amount of weight, exercise should increase beyond the minimum. Behavior therapy teaches new behaviors that promote weight loss. A doctor may recommend a combination of diet, behavior, and drug therapy, depending on the circumstances.
Gastrointestinal surgery is recommended for people with a BMI of 40 or a BMI of 35 to 39.9 with serious medical conditions. While dietary supplements and liposuction may help with temporary weight loss, they do not promote healthy lifestyle changes, and are not recommended by healthcare professionals. Moreover, the results are temporary and only aid in insignificant weight loss.
Prevention
While there are many genetic factors that may cause obesity, the best defense against other causes require education, knowledge, a good diet, and exercise. If children are taught healthy eating and exercise, in addition to an understanding of the dangers associated with obesity, they will more than likely carry this knowledge and these behaviors into adulthood.

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