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Understanding Obesity: Causes and Risks

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or more and affects over 90 million American adults. It increases the risk of serious diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than are burned through daily activities and exercise over long periods of time. Common specific causes include eating unhealthy foods high in fat and calories, lack of physical activity, genetics, medical conditions, and sleep deficiencies.

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Mohamed Ahmed
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11 views2 pages

Understanding Obesity: Causes and Risks

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index of 30 or more and affects over 90 million American adults. It increases the risk of serious diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than are burned through daily activities and exercise over long periods of time. Common specific causes include eating unhealthy foods high in fat and calories, lack of physical activity, genetics, medical conditions, and sleep deficiencies.

Uploaded by

Mohamed Ahmed
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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?What is obesity
Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. This condition puts people at a higher risk for
.serious diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s estimated that in
Trusted Source) American adults and 13.7 million (18.5‫ بالمئة‬2015–2016, 93.3 million (39.8
.Trusted Source) American children and teens are clinically obese‫بالمئة‬

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. BMI is a calculation
that takes a person’s weight and height into account. However, BMI does have some
.limitations

Trusted Source, “Factors such as age, sex, ethnicity,‫ مركز السيطرة على األمراض‬According to the
and muscle mass can influence the relationship between BMI and body fat. Also, BMI
doesn’t distinguish between excess fat, muscle, or bone mass, nor does it provide any
”.indication of the distribution of fat among individuals

.Despite these limitations, BMI continues to be widely used as an indicator of excess weight

?What causes obesity


Eating more calories than you burn in daily activity and exercise (on a long-term basis)
.causes obesity. Over time, these extra calories add up and cause you to gain weight

:Common specific causes of obesity include

eating a poor diet of foods high in fats and calories


having a sedentary (inactive) lifestyle
not sleeping enough, which can lead to hormonal changes that make you feel hungrier and
crave certain high-calorie foods
genetics, which can affect how your body processes food into energy and how fat is stored
growing older, which can lead to less muscle mass and a slower metabolic rate, making it
easier to gain weight
pregnancy (weight gained during pregnancy can be difficult to lose and may eventually lead
)to obesity
:Certain medical conditions may also lead to weight gain. These include

polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): a condition that causes an imbalance of female


reproductive hormones
Prader-Willi syndrome: a rare condition that an individual is born with which causes
excessive hunger
Cushing syndrome: a condition caused by having an excessive amount of the hormone
cortisol in your system
hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid): a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn’t produce
enough of certain important hormones
)osteoarthritis (and other conditions that cause pain that may lead to inactivity

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