Globesity - What is it? The Facts!

Globesity

What is Globesity? This is a blend of global with obesity and refers to the looming public health crisis worldwide caused by excessive weight gain. Obesity is generally caused by eating too much and moving too little. If you consume high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars, but do not burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat. In some cases, science shows that genetics plays a role in obesity. Genes can directly cause obesity in specific disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome. However, genes do not always predict future health. Diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome, and Cushing's syndrome are also contributors to obesity. Although we don’t want to hear it, in most cases it is simply our diet!

Scary Facts:

Obesity can cause a lot of damage to your body. People with severe obesity are more likely to have other diseases. These include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and many more. Combined with obesity, these diseases may lead people to have a lower quality of health. In some cases, these can lead to disability or early death.

Heart disease kills about 600,000 people every year in the United States alone. The American Heart Association considers obesity a major risk factor for heart disease. Large studies show that the risk for heart disease increases with obesity. People with severe obesity are at a higher risk for coronary artery disease. This means they have a higher risk of a heart attack.

People with obesity have reduced lung capacity. These people are at higher risk for respiratory infections. They are more likely to have asthma and other respiratory disorders. Asthma has been shown to be three to four times more common among people with obesity.

Cancer affects more than half a million lives per year in the United States alone. Obesity is believed to cause up to 90,000 cancer deaths per year. As body mass index (BMI) increases, so does your risk of cancer and death from cancer. For people with severe obesity, the death rate increases for all types of cancer. The death rate is 52 percent higher for men and 62 percent higher for women. 

Obesity puts a strain on your whole circulatory system. This strain increases your risk for stroke. Obesity can lead to other stroke risk factors. Stroke risk factors include heart disease, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, lipid abnormalities, type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) causes stomach acid or intestinal secretions to leak into your esophagus. Common GERD symptoms include heartburn, “indigestion”, throwing up food, coughing (especially at night), hoarseness, and belching. Between 10 percent and 20 percent of the general population experience GERD symptoms regularly.

Obesity has been associated with higher risk of GERD, erosive esophagitis and rarely, esophageal cancer (adenocarcinoma).

Obesity, in particular severe obesity, contributes to a number of bone and joint issues. These issues can increase the risk for accidents and personal injury.

There are many other disorders and diseases associated with obesity.

What can you do?

Check your BMI, there are many websites and applications you can use to check your BMI or visit your doctor or dietician for more information. The BMI categories are as follows:

Underweight = <18.5Normal weight = 18.5–24.9Overweight = 25–29.9Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Diets do not work! Weight loss is not something you do and never think about it again. It is a lifestyle, not a diet. Changing the way, you approach weight loss can help you be more successful at weigh management! Don’t just focus on the goal of weigh loss, focus on the lifestyle.

Remember to reward your success! Now I don’t mean with food, having dropped a dress size or pants size, why not treat yourself to some new you clothing.

Having tried various methods myself to combat weight, I can speak from experience. There are so many solutions out there but not all of them are correct or specifically correct for you. I have personally found a solution that I think is a perfect fit for most and I have seen excellent results and heard testimonials from various people from around the globe. Stay tuned for more info on this program.

https://asmbs.org/patients/impact-of-obesity