People nowadays want to look slimmer. Everybody wants to have an ideal body weight. To many people, fashion dictates what weight they should be in. Slimmer people are thought to be sexier, have more choices on what to wear, have better self-esteem, and most importantly, more attractive and happy in their lives. The definition of being sexy differs from one race and culture to another. People have different perspectives about how they look and feel.

Who doesn’t love food? The foods we intake every single day in our lives contribute to our overall health and wellbeing. People say that, “You are what you eat.” Basically, this is because when we eat more food, our size gets bigger. It is very obvious on our exterior. People are visual beings. They love to criticize and look at attractive things.

What is Obesity?

Obesity is a chronic condition and has serious complications, just as with diabetes and heart diseases. Physical activity is optional. There is no law that orders people in the society to burn their fats. People can have a sedentary lifestyle, if that is their choice. People can eat anything. It is never illegal. Food is abundant and there are many food choices, sometimes making consumers really difficult to choose. Sometimes, we consume more than what is needed. It is said that food can be very comforting—to the stomach and to the mind.

Obesity is a long term condition that is characterized by the accumulation of excess fats in the body. These excess fats are very much seen and may have a grave effect on health. Having obesity predisposes a person to have other complications, that could lead to death, such as diabetes, heart conditions, obstructive sleep apnea, cancer, and osteoarthritis. Diabetes occurs due to the high levels of sugar in the blood that the body can no longer meet homeostasis. Many heart attacks are caused by atherosclerosis of the formation of plaques in the blood vessels due to fat accumulation. Obstructive sleep apnea happens because the person’s airway is blocked by an anatomical part due to body fat that pushes it towards the airway, causing a blockage. Several cancers are attributed to several foods. Osteoarthritis is caused by the wear and tear due to heavy weight bearing of the joints of the bones.

Morbid Obesity

Morbid obesity is applied to people who are more than two times their ideal body weight or whose body mass index exceeds 30 kilogram per square meter. Another definition of morbid obesity is body weight that is more than 100 pounds past the ideal body weight. People with this condition have higher risk for health complications, such as having asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer of the breasts, cancer of the colon, hypertension, hypoxemia, sleep apnea, arthritis, bronchitis, and diabetes. People who have morbid obesity are most likely to have hypoxemia, or the decrease in oxygen saturation in the blood. Somnolence, or the feeling of being drowsy at all times is a common symptom. Right sided heart failure is one of the primary dangers of this chronic condition. They are those that frequently suffer from lost of self esteem. Their body image is more likely impaired. They are more predisposed to having depression due to this. A very heavy weight gain disrupts the normal everyday activities of the person because she or he cannot fit in to the normal sizes of clothes and may have difficulty in transporting. Moving about is a difficult task.

The common causes of acquiring morbid obesity is the lack of physical activity, excessive caloric intake, and thyroid function disorders.

This condition should not be neglected or treated as a joke. It has serious medical and emotional effects to the beholder and can lead to death. Seeking medical advice is really needed. Those who do not seek medical attention often become anorexic or bulimic and are predisposed to other complications. Medical technology and research has several ways to help treat obesity. Conservative management of morbid obesity includes placing the person on a weight loss diet in conjunction with behavioral modification and exercise. However, diet therapy is usually unsuccessful, especially when done alone. Subjective one’s self to the use of cathartics and weight loss medicines sometimes endangers a person with obesity to several side effects. Consulting a physician is always the best. There is a belief that depression is a big contributing factor to obesity as many people find comfort in foods. The diagnosis and treatment of depression will greatly help in the treatment of the physical obesity. Medications are also prescribed to suppress appetite or burn fats to be excreted as stool. If all these fail, a surgical management of the stomach may be needed.