You must have read in newspapers about globally rising cases of obesity, or must have heard people saying “I am
following a diet to treat my obesity”. Every second person today talks about obesity and its serious consequences. But do they really know its meaning? Most of the people are not even aware about the actual meaning and difference between obese and overweight. In fact, the two words are often used interchangeably. They often confuse being obese with being overweight. 

There is a fine line between being overweight and being obese. The meaning of overweight is being above the normal range of weight, and obesity is a step ahead. This condition is an advanced stage of being overweight. 
 

What is Obesity?

Word obesity has derived from the 17th century Latin word ‘obesus’ which implies ‘having eaten until fat’. Mostly
someone who eats a lot or beyond what one’s body’s needs, becomes the victim of obesity. It is a complex disease of excessive body fat. Obesity is generally measured on a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator. 
 

What is BMI?

It is a scale which measures body fat. It is based on the height and weight of adult men and women.

BMI indicates whether your body weight is appropriate or you are underweight/overweight. Both the conditions (overweight/underweight) are not ideal. There is a huge risk of serious diseases associated with both the conditions. Many factors together decide whether your BMI is appropriate or not like height, age, gender etc. 
 

How to calculate your BMI? 

Many online tools, software are available on the internet where you can calculate your BMI. You just have to write your age, height, sex and weight and they calculate your BMI.

Here is how the weight status decided on BMI calculator

·        If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the underweight range.

·        If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the normal or Healthy Weight range.

·        If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, you are overweight.

·        If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, you have obesity 

Underweight
Underweight is a situation when you weigh less than what you should ideally way according to your gender, height and age. As mentioned above, if your BMI is less than 18.5, you are underweight. Underweight has further subcategories including mild thin, moderate thin, and severe thin. 

 Here are some risks associated with being underweight

·        Underweight is another word for malnutrition, which causes fatigue and drains energy faster from the body. 

·        Immune system becomes weak and chances of falling sick rise 

·        Being underweight can sometimes affect your ability to heal wounds.

·        Osteoporosis is a situation caused by underweight in which bones become weak and brittle 

·        Low BMI can give birth to anovulation & infertility

·     Missing key nutrients sometimes leads to development delays

 Meaning of Overweight

Overweight is a situation when you weigh more than what you should ideally, according to your gender, height and
age. If your BMI calculator shows a number between 25.0 & 29.9, you are overweight. 

There are so many measures to control the overweight including exercising & following a proper diet plan.

Obesity: Being obese is an advanced stage of being overweight. If you don’t take precautions while you are
overweight you can become a victim of obesity. Obesity cannot, rather should not be ignored. 

 Health Risks Of Being Overweight

Although being overweight is not as dangerous as obesity, the risks associated with being overweight are no less.
Being overweight is the first step towards obesity. An overweighing person could turn obese gradually. Thus all the health diseases that are associated with obesity i.e. diabetes, heart attack, high blood pressure, joints pain,
PCOS, infertility, etc. are somehow applicable to overweight people too.  

 
Overweight and Obesity Difference 

Sometimes people think both words are synonyms. Although there is no major difference between
obese and overweight but they can’t be used interchangeably.  

Possible Outcomes of Obesity: 
As they say “Obesity is the mother of all diseases”. The statement is quite true. It can give birth to serious diseases if not taken care of. 

 The chances of developing following diseases are higher in an obese person: 
 

·        Diabetes: Obesity is directly associated with diabetes. If not cured at the initial stage, obesity can give birth to type-2 diabetes. 

Here is how it all takes place:

Pancreas manages the level of glucose in your blood. The pancreas creates insulin hormone that moves glucose out of your blood. Normally, glucose is stored in the liver after insulin transports it to muscles.  But when you have obesity, your cells resist glucose’s movement and consequently, the area of your liver where excess glucose is usually stored is filled with fat.  The glucose remains in the blood after finding no place in the liver. So the pancreas creates even more insulin to accomplish the job of moving glucose out of the blood. While trying to push against the resistance created by the fat, the pancreas overwork. And eventually It starts producing less insulin and leading to Diabetes.

·        High Blood Pressure: It can cause your blood pressure to rise. Obese individuals need more blood to supply oxygen and nutrients to the body. Body also needs more pressure to move this blood around, which results in high blood pressure.  

·      Obesity Contributes To Heart Diseases: Heart diseases are very common in obese people. It changes the body’s cholesterol levels. Obesity can cause a spike in bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels along with lowering good high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol. High-density lipoproteins cholesterol removes bad cholesterol and works to reduce the risk for heart disease. High BP, high cholesterol are most common
causes of heart attack, which are sadly more common for obese individuals. 

·   Affects Reproduction: Obesity can influence various aspects of reproduction, from sexual activity to conception. Obesity leads to menstrual cycle dysfunctions. Irregular or missed periods result in infertility. Moreover during pregnancy, obesity increases the risk of early and late miscarriage, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and complications during labor and delivery. It also slightly increases the chances
of bearing a child with birth defects. 

·        Affects Reproduction: Obesity can influence various aspects of reproduction, from sexual activity to
conception. Obesity leads to menstrual cycle dysfunctions. Irregular or missed periods result in infertility. Moreover during pregnancy, obesity increases the risk of early and late miscarriage, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and complications during labor and delivery. It also slightly increases the chances
of bearing a child with birth defects.  

·       Obstructive sleep apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder that affects the upper airway and
breathing during sleep. The upper airway collapses or becomes obstructed, disrupting normal breathing. This leads to frequent awakenings from sleep, daytime sleepiness and potentially heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Treatments/Cures 

·  Healthy Eating Plan: Adopt a proper diet plan to control the weight. Keto, vegan are some of the common diet plans that help in losing those extra pounds. 

·  Exercise: Make exercise a regular practice. The more you move, the more fat you burn. Make skipping, cycling, and swimming a habit. And see it do wonders for you. Pilates is a globally accepted exercise for weight loss. It’s a type of mind-body exercise that uses a method called ‘Controllogy’ to control body weight. 

 Disclaimer: Do not perform any particular exercise without the supervision of any fitness trainer/instructor.

·        Regular Physical Activity: If you can’t take out a few hours from your busy schedule for exercise, then adopt a life cycle that involves more physical activities. Small habits like walking, dancing, stair climbing and jogging would be great help. 
 

·    Intermittent Fasting: Fasting works wonders on the body. A little starvation does no harm. There are numerous benefits to an empty stomach, detoxification, weight loss to name a few. 
 

·        Yoga: Though yoga does not guarantee weight loss, it burns calories and has many other health benefits like improved heart health, relaxed body and many others. 

Ignorance is Injurious

“Ignorance is bliss”, they say, but not all the time. When it comes to health, there should be no place for ignorance. Obesity is an unignorable condition. It’s important to spread awareness about obesity among people. People in foreign countries have a fair idea about it but people in India still lack knowledge in this regard. Timely diagnosis is necessary to avoid grave consequences of obesity. Be aware and take care of yourself as well as your loved ones’ health. Still in doubt? Visit AnshObecure for a better understanding of obesity and its treatment.