Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation poses health risks and must be treated
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that, in 2025, about 2.3 billion adults will be overweight, and that 700 million will be obese. “Although obesity is an increasingly relevant topic, the subject is still a taboo or is approached with various stigmas, which only generates discrimination because, in the vast majority of cases, the genetic component is the basis of this condition, and not just habits and attitudes of overweight people”, analyzes Vera Shukumine, nutritionist at Sami, health operator.
What is Obesity?
According to Vera Shukumine, the classification of obesity is not a consensus in the scientific community. There are health professionals who identify the condition as a disease and others who interpret it as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. “In any case, everyone agrees that being overweight is a danger to quality of life“, points out Shukumine. In general, it is possible to state that obesity is characterized by abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat that causes health risks.
Unraveling the BMI
The Body Mass Index, better known as BMI, is an internationally recognized calculation adopted by the WHO to suggest whether a person is above, below or at the expected weight for their height. However, it includes all the weight that the person has, adding fat, muscle, bone and water.
Thus, for example, BMI above 30 suggests obesity, but it does not give the diagnosis, as the weight may be overweight due to muscle (such as athletes who have high muscle weight, high BMI and are not obese). Another condition that can raise BMI without being obese are conditions where there is a lot of swelling (fluid retention). Therefore, BMI can and should be used for obesity screening, but it does not provide a definitive diagnosis if it is not accompanied by excess fat.
Importance of follow-up and treatment
Obesity involves several factors, among them the involvement of more than 20 genes, and is not, therefore, a simply behavioral condition, as it involves several factors. In some cases, it is imperative that the person is accompanied by professionals, as well as a nutritionist and, in some cases, a psychologist, in addition to other specialists, if necessary.
After the diagnosis of obesity, it is extremely important to establish the cause of obesity and to treated each one individually, in order to be successful in obtaining and maintaining the results; since 70% of people who go on diets that are not programmed in a misguided way gain weight again or return to their original weight, the so-called “accordion effect”.
Difference between overweight and obesity
The difference between overweight and obesity classifications is the severity, ie the health risks. Therefore, the percentage of body fat of each individual must be evaluated in order to assess potential health risks related to fat accumulation.
“When verifying that their BMI result is classified as overweight, some people may feel lost about what this really means and what differs the overweight of obesity, since both refer to excess body fat”, comments Vera Shukumine.
Remembering that, although an overweight person does not always have an accumulation of body fat, he may indeed have excess fat. In short, being overweight does not necessarily indicate a health problem. Only an individual assessment with a professional can determine whether someone is healthy or not.
By Luana Lopes
Source: Maxima
I am an experienced author and journalist with a passion for lifestyle journalism. I currently work for Buna Times, one of the leading news websites in the world. I specialize in writing stories about health, wellness, fashion, beauty, interior design, and more. My articles have been featured on major publications such as The Guardian and The Huffington Post.