What is the Cause of Obesity?

Obesity simply occurs as a result of an imbalance between the amount of calories taken in with food and the amount of calories the body expends; if more calories are taken in and fewer calories are expended, weight is gained and more fat than normal is stored in the body. However, the causes of obesity are not that simple; many biological, behavioral, social, cultural and environmental factors can lead to obesity. The body's genetic structure, chronic stress, mental disorders, eating processed industrial foods, a sedentary lifestyle, past illnesses, some medications used, and insufficient sleep are also among the factors that can cause obesity.

Why is Obesity Important?

Obesity is a chronic and progressive disease. More importantly, obesity brings with it many diseases and also exacerbates some diseases.

It can cause many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases and mental disorders:

• Heart diseases: Cardiovascular problems associated with obesity include serious and potentially fatal diseases such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, and stroke.
• Risk of Diabetes: Type 2 diabetes, also known as diabetes, is a disease closely related to obesity.
• Fatty Liver: Obesity increases the risk of fatty liver disease; fatty liver is a serious and chronic disease that can progress to cirrhosis.
• Musculoskeletal Disorders: Osteoarthritis, which is seen in the joints, especially the knees that bear the weight of the body, is closely related to being overweight and obesity. Back pain is also a common complaint in obese people.
• Respiratory Problems: The relationship between asthma and sleep apnea syndrome, which is characterized by interruptions in breathing during sleep, and obesity has also been demonstrated.
• Digestive System Diseases: Gallbladder disease is also closely related to obesity.
• Reproductive Problems: Infertility is a problem that can occur in association with obesity.
• Cancers: It is known that obesity is also associated with some types of cancer, such as uterine, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, kidney and colon cancer.
• Mental Problems: Obesity is also closely related to mental disorders such as anxiety disorder and depression.

Is There a Treatment for Obesity?

Obesity is a preventable and treatable disease.

The main goal in obesity treatment today is not only to lose weight, but to prevent weight-related diseases or improve the person's health by achieving weight loss.

Obesity treatment is only possible with the support of a physician and a multifaceted approach.

• Lifestyle change: After the physician's evaluation and some necessary tests, first of all, a lifestyle change including exercise and healthy eating should be made according to the roadmap to be drawn.
• Psychological support: However, psychological support should also be planned if necessary.
• Drug treatment: Drug treatment also has an important place in the treatment of obesity. In cases where sufficient weight loss cannot be achieved with lifestyle changes, drug treatment is also recommended in addition.
• Surgical and interventional procedures: Surgical interventions are used and are effective in the treatment of obesity in cases where weight loss is not sufficient with lifestyle changes and drug treatment.

It should be known that when weight is lost, improvement will be achieved in many diseases associated with obesity. With only 5-15% weight loss, improvement can be achieved in high blood pressure, diabetes, blood fat levels, fatty liver, sleep apnea syndrome. As a result, with the treatment of obesity, the individual's quality of life also improves significantly.

Continuity and close medical supervision are important in obesity treatment. After losing weight in a healthy way, it should also be aimed to maintain the weight for a long time, because it is as important not to regain the lost weight as it is to lose weight.

While struggling with excess weight and obesity, it should not be forgotten that this will be a process, and support should be sought from a doctor and a hospital.