Why Is Weight Management Important?

Disclaimer: Not medical or professional advice. Always seek the advice of your physician.

Obesity is a chronic disease that results from excessive accumulation of body fat. Nowadays, doctors consider obesity to be the largest non-communicable epidemic in the world. More than 2 billion people globally are overweight or obese.

Obesity has specific medical criteria. They refer to the condition that causes the accumulation of excess body fat and when the body mass index meets or exceeds 30. Body mass index (BMI) can be used as an indicator of obesity, which depends on a person's height and weight. You can check your BMI using a special calculator.

BMI calculation is appropriate for self-assessment of obesity risk. However, it is not suitable for everyone. BMI does not provide a reliable measurement for professional athletes due to their greater muscle mass. On the contrary, a study carried out in Finland stated that 28% of men and 42% of women had normal body mass index scores. But in fact, 34% of men and 45% of women were found to be normal weight obese. This condition is characterized by normal body mass index (BMI) but elevated amounts of body fat. Therefore, when you monitor your weight and track changes in your body, it is critical to record your BMI and take into account other parameters.

Diagnostic Methods for Obesity

Waist Circumference Measurement

This is a clear indication of visceral obesity when fat accumulates around or inside organs.
To find your waist circumference, use a measuring tape and wrap it around your waist right above the hip bone (iliac crest). Breathe in and breathe out naturally, then take the measurement. A healthy waist circumference should be less than 40 inches for men and less than 35 inches for women.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio

To measure the circumference of the hips, you need to stand upright with your feet together. Wrap the tape measure around the most protruding part of the hips. Then divide the waist circumference by the hip circumference. The normal range for waist-to-hip ratio should not exceed 0.9 for men and 0.85 for women.
Waist and hip circumference measurements are suitable for physically inactive people and those who do not intend to put on much muscle mass.

Skinfold Thickness Measurement

This method is typically used by family doctors, endocrinologists, and nutritionists. It involves a special caliper to measure the thickness of a “pinch” of skin in the abdomen, thighs or upper back. Then, the percentage of body fat is calculated by using skinfold thickness equations.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)

Bioelectrical impedance analysis provides an accurate assessment of body composition in one procedure. This type of diagnostics is based on the electrical resistivity of tissues. For example, muscles pass five times less current than fat and 50 times less than bones. The results of BIA determine the exact ratio of skeletal, muscle and adipose tissue.

This method is considered to be sufficiently precise. Measurement error can occur only when the analysis is performed during illness or after intense physical activity.

What Causes Obesity?

The reasons for the excess body weight seem, at first glance, obvious. However, nothing is as simple as it seems. We know that an unhealthy diet has a direct impact on weight gain. On the other hand, some people who eat whatever they want remain slim.

Factors Contributing to Obesity

Lifestyle. If you consume high-calorie foods, do not eat enough fruits and vegetables, drink a lot of alcoholic, carbonated and sugary drinks, you are at risk of obesity. An additional factor is a sedentary lifestyle. However, desserts and fast food will not actually cause belly fat. The body stores the extra calories as body fat when we eat more calories than we need.
Genetics. Genes can influence a person's amount of body fat. Besides, the human body’s efficiency in converting food to energy, the regulation of appetite, and the process of burning calories during exercise are decided by genes.
Thyroid disorders and hormonal imbalances. Hormones control our body like a conductor of an orchestra. Even a slight disruption in hormone levels can trigger weight gain.
Microbiota. The contribution of the microbiota to the development of obesity is not fully understood. It has been reported that the composition of gut bacterial flora differs between obese and lean people. The data also suggest that gut microbiota influences nutrient absorption, including the extraction of calories from food and their storage in adipose tissue for later use. However, scientists have insufficient data to affirm that changing the microbiota can help fight against excess weight.
Stress and mental health problems. Long-term exposure to stress and eating disorders can also lead to overweight and obesity. People try to use high-calorie food to cope with problems, losing control over how much and what is eaten.
Hormone therapy (corticosteroids), blood glucose-lowering drugs, antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs, and some chemotherapy drugs can result in rapid weight gain.
Body positivity. "Healthy at every size" is one of the slogans of this movement. In fact, excess weight is not a matter of appearance and taste, it increases a person's risk of serious health problems. Some doctors believe that the idea of not treating obesity as a disease is dangerous.

Why is Obesity Dangerous?

Diseases of the cardiovascular system and strokes. Obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and these conditions are also closely linked to heart disease and strokes.
Type 2 diabetes. This disease is characterized by insufficient production of insulin or impaired insulin sensitivity when the body develops resistance to the effects of this hormone. Obesity is a major risk factor for developing diabetes.
Specific types of cancer. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing several cancers, including uterine, cervical, endometrial, ovarian, breast, colon, esophageal, liver, gallbladder, pancreatic, kidney, and prostate cancers.
Gastrointestinal problems. People with obesity are more likely to develop heartburn, gallbladder disease, and liver problems.
Sleep apnea. Obese people tend to suffer from sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing is interrupted during sleep for periods of more than 10 seconds.
Osteoarthritis. Obesity puts additional pressure on the joints. As a result, it leads to osteoarthritis. One of the main symptoms of this condition is the destruction of articular cartilage.
Statistics indicate that obesity also raises the risk of severe complications of COVID-19.

Weight Loss Techniques

Unfortunately, losing excess body fat is difficult for most overweight people since they have contraindications to high-intensity exercise. Therefore, the main weight management strategies include changing dietary habits and a gradual increase in physical activity. You can start to train hard and lose extra pounds only when your weight returns to its normal range.

In more complicated cases, the doctor may recommend medications or even surgical intervention, such as bariatric surgery. Nevertheless, if a person plans significant weight loss (even without medicines or surgery), it is advisable to turn to a weight loss specialist. Obesity affects nearly every organ system in your body, so it should be under medical supervision.

Clinical Trials on Obesity and Overweight

Most health problems in the United States are associated with excess body weight. Hence, obesity remains one of the most researched diseases in the world. Current clinical studies are focused on assessing the developmental parameters of obesity:

Examine the role of nutrition control in the treatment of obesity
Explore new medical, non-invasive, surgical methods in obesity treatment.
Determine the effectiveness of different types of drugs in the treatment of obesity.
Identify the effects of the microbiota of the human gastrointestinal tract on weight.
Investigate the consequences of weight gained during pregnancy on the future health of a woman and her infant.
Learn the health benefits of exercise and sport in obese people.
Investigate signals that control hunger and mechanisms of fat storage, as well as the possibility of regulating these functions.
Determine the role of hormones in the regulation of weight and propensity to obesity.