OBESITY
About 30-40% or over 2.1 billion adults are estimated to have overweight or obesity. Both overweight and obesity can make it more likely that you will develop serious health complications. These problems include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, fatty liver, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, gallstones, high cholesterol, gout, and many types of cancer. Obesity can make many other medical problems harder to treat, lead to increased disability, and even raises the risk of early death.
Obesity is very complex and not just a simple problem of willpower or self-control. In general, it results from a combination of eating too much, getting too little physical activity, and genetics. Another possible cause of obesity is a hormone imbalance, as in hypothyroidism or Cushing’s syndrome. These are rare, though. Some medications may cause weight gain, such as those used to treat diabetes, psychiatric illnesses, neurologic disorders, or inflammatory conditions.
There is no simple solution or a pill to cure obesity. However, there are effective treatments to help manage it. Obesity needs a long-term approach that combines diet, increased activity, and behavioral changes. Weight loss medications can also be helpful for some people. Some people with obesity may also benefit from bariatric (weight loss) surgery. Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy are the forms of surgery most commonly used nowadays and they are both very effective.
