One in four adults suffer from a mild or severe form of obesity and alarmingly, 61.7% of the population are either obese or overweight.

What is obesity?

“Obesity” refers to a person who is extremely overweight, with excess body fat. Generally, a person is considered overweight if they have a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 29.9 and obese with a BMI of 30 and above; and higher than 40 and it’s classified as severe obesity.

What causes obesity?

Put simply, obesity is commonly caused by eating too much and moving too little. If high amounts of energy are consumed through fat and sugars, they will be stored by the body as fat if no physical activity occurs.

In today’s society, our lifestyle has become increasingly inactive. Most jobs are sedentary and involve sitting at a desk, in which people commute by car as opposed to walking or cycling. And how do most people relax after work? By again, sitting down watching TV. This unhealthy combination contributes to weight gain and poor overall health.

The Department of Health recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, such as cycling or fast walking.

How can you make the right changes?

Take a look at your lifestyle and see if you identify with any of the following:

• Eating large amounts of processed or fast food
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Eating out often
• Eating larger portions than necessary
• Drinking too many soft drinks
• Comfort eating – to help you deal with emotions
• Unhealthy eating habits tend to run in families as children learn from their parents what is considered to be the norm

If so, you can start by limiting your intake of any the above.

What illnesses may you face?

Obesity can seriously increase the risk of developing many health conditions:

• Heart and stroke
  Extra weight increases the risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Both of which increases the chances of heart disease and stroke.
• Type 2 diabetes
  Studies suggest that abdominal fat causes cells to release chemicals that make the body less able to respond to insulin. And thus, preventing it from lowering the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. Reduce the risk of developing diabetes by losing weight, eating a balanced diet, getting good sleep and exercising more.
• Cancer
  Storing extra fat in the body can produce hormones and growth factors that affect the way cells in the body work. This can raise the risk of several diseases including cancer, in which more than 1 in 20 cancer cases in the UK are linked to being overweight or obese.
• Sleep Apnoea
  Causes the sufferer to snore heavily and temporarily stop breathing during sleep. It can also cause daytime sleepiness and increase the likelihood of heart disease and strokes.
• Depression
  May be linked with obesity. Perhaps due to becoming self-conscious and dissatisfied with one’s body image.

If you’re unsure whether you classify as overweight or obese, the NHS Healthy Weight Calculator can help you. Here, you’re able to enter your height and weight which together, gives you your personal BMI.