Obesity - Causes and Consequences

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Have you ever heard an overweight person say that he/she has tried everything and isn't losing weight or probably say that they don't eat anything and still add weight?

While I know that metabolic rates vary with people, I believe also that our lifestyles contribute to a large extent to our being overweight. We should study our bodies deliberately, know what works for our system and make conscious effort to align our lifestyle with what works for our system.
Since 2015, October 11 has been designated as the World Obesity Day. Being overweight or obese has a lot of serious health implications. If one goes to take a life insurance, his weight and waist circumference are among the indices taken by the insurance companies in order to determine their premium. This is because overweight people are at a higher risk of dying at a young age.

This post seeks to highlight factors that could result in being overweight or obese and the consequences of being overweight.

Some causes of excessive weight are

  • Wrong diet
  • Lack of physical activity
  • Some medications 


Consequences of being overweight 
Being overweight or obese have been associated with some health problems. Some of them are:

  • Elevated blood pressure
  • High cholesterol levels 
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Breathing problems
  • Sleep apnoea  ( shallow breathing or loss of breathe while sleeping)
  • Difficulty in movement
  • Body pain
  • Some cancers eg breast, colon, kidney, bladder and liver.
The good news is that slight but consistent changes in life style makes a lot of difference in one's weight. 

Watch out for our next article on Simple ways to enhance physical activity.

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