What is Obesity?
Nutrition begins in the mother’s womb and continues until death. Adequate and balanced nutrition is necessary for human growth, development, being healthy and productive. In daily life, individuals need daily calories, which vary according to age, gender, job, genetic characteristics and disease status. In order to maintain a healthy life, the calories consumed and the calories spent must be kept in balance.
If the daily calorie intake is more than the expended calorie, the unspent calorie is stored as fat in the body and causes obesity. Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization as excessive accumulation of fat in the body to the extent that it impairs health. As it can be understood, obesity is considered as a disease that affects the quality and duration of life negatively, which occurs as a result of the calorie intake is more than the calories consumed and the excess energy is stored as fat in the body (20% or more).
Symptoms of Obesity
Early diagnosis of obesity symptoms is very important in terms of treatment. The same symptoms are seen in people with many obesity diseases. Among these symptoms;
- Sleeping disorders
- Excessive sweating
- Breathing problem
- An increase in the desire to eat
- Snore
- Get tired quickly
- Swelling in the feet
- Back pains
- There is increased fat in the abdomen and waist area.
Causes of Obesity
Excessive and unbalanced nutrition are important factors. In addition, developments in today's technology have made life easier, but have significantly limited daily movements. Inadequate physical activity, genetic, environmental, socio-cultural and psychological factors, many interrelated factors cause obesity.
How is Obesity treated?
To be successful in the fight against obesity requires disciplined work. In the Obesity Departments of Medicana Health Group, Nutrition, Diet, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Obesity and Metabolism Surgery unit, Psychiatry department work in coordination to determine the most appropriate treatment method for the patient.
Diet Therapy
The most important step in the treatment of obesity is diet and exercise therapy. The daily calorie amount that the person evaluated by the dietitian should take is revealed and an eating program is prepared. A person can lose weight with a diet, but as many overweight people experience, when they quit the diet and switch to normal eating patterns, they regain the same weight or even more. In order not to gain weight back, she/he should create a new diet. She/He must abandon his old habits.
Exercise Therapy
It is the second most important remedy for weight loss. A weight loss program that does not include exercise is unthinkable and is unlikely to be successful. Exercise alone has been shown to result in moderate weight loss. It has been shown that people who exercise regularly have a high metabolic rate during rest. The energy-consuming effect of exercise continues not only during the movement but also after the end of the exercise. However, in a person who wants to lose excess weight, exercise alone is not enough to reach the desired weight. It is the most effective method in maintaining this order after reaching the desired weight.
Medications Therapy
The medications used must be reliable in terms of health, must be approved by the ministry, have a causal effect, have no significant side effects, and must not cause addiction. Obesity medications can be used in addition to diet and exercise therapy. Since there are many deaths due to unconscious drug use today, it is of great importance that such drugs should be used under the advice and control of a physician.
Obesity in Children
Obesity, which is becoming more and more widespread, has affected children as well as adults. The fact that 16.3% of children aged 2-19 in the world are obese and this number is increasing day by day has also become a public health problem. In order to prevent this ever-increasing data, children must first be under parental control. If the child is heavier than his peers and the body mass index is higher than it should be, a specialist doctor should be consulted. Early treatment in children is very important to prevent future diseases. In this process, parents should support their children in regulating their eating habits and encourage them to engage in physical activity.
Obesity in Turkey
According to the data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) in 2014; The rate of obese individuals in our country is 19.9%. When the body mass index of individuals is examined; Of individuals aged 15 and over, 33.7% are overweight, 42.2% are normal weight, and 4.2% are underweight. In terms of gender; 24.5% of women are obese and 29.3% are overweight. In men, these rates are respectively 15.3% and 38.2%,. When these data are put into figures according to the population of Turkey, in our country; There are 40 million “overweight” and 8 million “obese” individuals.
Obesity Calculation Procedures
Many methods have been developed to determine the degree of obesity. The most widely used method today is the body mass index. But anyone can easily calculate it.
How is obesity calculated with BMI, according to the American Institute of Health?
It is obtained by dividing the person's weight (in kg) by the square of their height (in meters).
- 20 – 24.9 is normal
- 25 – 29.9 is overweight
- 30 – 34.9 is obese
- 35 – 39.5 is type II obese
- 40 – 49.9 is morbidly obese
- 50 or more is considered super obese.
How to fight Obesity should be?
Obesity is among the diseases with the highest prevelance in the world. Because of obesity-induced hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, ischemic heart disease and similar diseases, the life expectancy of obese patients is approximately 15 years shorter than normal individuals. Obesity is also a risk factor for cancer types such as colorectal cancers, breast and prostate cancer. Therefore, the balance between healthy nutrition and obesity should be well maintained. In addition to the regulation of nutrition and activity habits, the patient's family, in particular, should be informed about this issue. In order to achieve successful results in obesity, which is a difficult process, the determination of the person is important. Getting information about obesity from specialist doctors and keeping it under constant control during this process will affect the treatment positively.
