We all have heard a very common phrase- “Health is wealth”. Well, health is the most important asset and wealth that we have in our life.
A proper health will help us be confident and successful and we can perform our assigned tasks with full dedication.
There are severe disturbances in one’s eating behavior that causes eating disorders. The common ones are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
One is about turning overweight and fat while the other talks about choosing to stay thin. Along with these two, it is important to know what obesity is all about.
What is obesity?
Obesity is not called an eating disorder. In general, obesity does not include proper eating patterns or habits. Irregular eating patterns ultimately contribute to the cause of eating disorders, not obesity.
Anorexia nervosa is the scientific name given to the disorder in which a person is afraid of gaining weight and turning fat.
They may be underweight by nature, but the phobia of gaining unnecessary weight pushes them into a stress zone.
Generally women are known to be suffering heavily from such phobias and in most cases; it may not be a serious issue.
On account of this disorder, people tend to show specific signs of anxiety. People may suffer from two types of anorexia nervosa.
One is binge eating or purging or we can also call it over-eating and the other is the restrictive type wherein people feed very limited meals to themselves.
In binge eating or purging, the person consumes large quantity of food compared to normal intakes.
On the other hand, people who restrict themselves to limited quantities of food, people consider many factors like calorie intake, the carbohydrate intake factor etc. They control the intake of calories as well.
In bulimia nervosa, the person does not have any control over binge eating. Binge eating is involved in both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
The difference between the two is that in anorexia nervosa the person is underweight while in bulimia nervosa the person has a normal weight or is overweight.
Binge eating is also one very common eating disorder. People who suffer from this disorder generally think a lot about their shape and weight.
Causes of obesity
In the modern world there is easy supply and availability of food and people do not have too many difficulties to get food.
With easy availability of food, people fail to distinguish between what is healthy and what is not.
They fail to glance through what food suits their body type and what does not. Consumption of excess food gets stored as fat in our bodies.
Increased fat makes our body look bulky, without proper shape and leads to excess storage of lipids in muscles. This has become a major cause for all health problems in the world today.
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI) which is calculated by taking the relative ratio of a person’s weight and height.
By calculating the BMI, we can easily conclude whether a person is underweight, normal or overweight.
Effects of obesity on health
Due to obesity, a person’s life is at risk along with many other associated health issues.
There could be health complications ranging from cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol issues, heart diseases, hypertension and arthritis.
Nowadays these diseases are termed under the name ‘lifestyle diseases, because directly or indirectly they are caused by the type of lifestyle we lead.
Whether we have a sedentary or active lifestyle goes a long way in deciding the extent of these diseases in our body.
Blood pressure (Hypertension) and diabetes are like very common ailments in people these days.
Obesity may be caused due to genetic factors too. Body hormones are also responsible for weight regulation. Family history and socio-cultural influences also play a significant role in attaining obesity.
Sometimes it is in the family genes due to which a person does not gain weight no matter how much they eat.
Fast food joints are present all over cities and at every corner of the street. We are also influenced by the food shown to us through advertisements.
The food is advertised in such a way that will tempt us to consume it. We will not think whether the food is healthy or not.
The type of food we eat is also affected by our culture. We consume foods which are commonly consumed in our culture and our region.
Family also plays an important role in the choice of foods. The families which always prefer healthy food remain fit. But those who consume high calorie foods have higher chances of getting obesity.
Solution of obesity
Obesity can be treated by suitable lifestyle modifications, proper medication and bariatric surgery.
Modifications in our lifestyle have a lot of positive effect but it may take some time to adapt to new lifestyle changes.
Good changes in diet teamed with regular exercise and proper amount of calorie intake will control and prevent obesity.
But it is not very easy to achieve this as shown through advertisements. A good determination and a positive state of mind will help achieve good results at a faster rate.
Some people prefer medications to treat obesity. This can be carried out by taking medications which will either absorb the nutrients or reduce the eating.
Bariatric surgery is the most efficient treatment for obesity. The storage capacity of the stomach becomes less.
But a decision for the same should be taken after expert doctor consultations and the risks associated should definitely be discussed.
Prevention of obesity
As obesity has become a major problem in the world, people these days teach their children about side effects of obesity from their childhood itself.
It is a lifelong ailment. It should be treated once you know your body is gaining additional weight. If the child suffers from obesity from childhood itself, it may become dangerous for the child during adulthood.
So, proper knowledge must be given at the right time. There should be proper eating habits and also regular physical exercises.
Eating disorders can be treated through proper consultations and doctor advises. But people suffering from these disorders will be conflicted with many ideas and thoughts regarding their health.
They may hesitate visiting a doctor to get treated. Even though there is treatment for these disorders, people should try to stay away from improper lifestyle and irregular and imbalanced food eating habits.
At present, people have easy access to internet and they should make good use of it. They can easily read from blogs about nutritious and balanced food items that are good for the body. They will keep a person healthy.
Proper food intake along with exercises and a positive state of mind are essential elements to remain fit. If the person only prefers eating and there is no physical activity in the body, then the body becomes lazy.
This will further give rise to many health problems which may turn into huge complications in due course of time. Thus, it is better to prevent them than to cure them when one becomes a victim of lifestyle diseases.
Conclusion
Our mind, body and soul will be in a balanced state when we are hale and hearty.
There are many ways to maintain a proper health. Some of them are- exercise, eating nutritious food, maintaining a balanced diet, regular intake of water and staying happy.
Our society is developing at a very fast pace due to which no one has proper time to consume the right food. This is the reason why people adapt to eating of junk food, fast food which is totally unhealthy.
If a person does not maintain proper health, there are chances they will develop heart problems, obesity, too much loss or gain in weight and many other common diseases and ailments.
In order to avoid this, one should choose and prefer to have a healthy life.
Only with a healthy life, one can gain anything in life.
So, one’s first concern and goal in life should be to stay fit, have a healthy state of mind, a positive approach and a good immune system to ward off diseases.
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