OBESITY frequently asked questions

OBESITY frequently asked questions

What's the difference between being obese and being overweight?

Obesity is excess fat. Overweight is excess weight. A overweight person need not be fatty (obese) such as athletes, who has more muscle mass.

Can a normal weight person be obese?

A person with normal weight can be obese (excess fat), because of less muscle mass. This is known as sacropenic obesity.

What should be goal of a obesity treatment? Weight loss or fat loss?

It is the fat percentage that measures obesity. Hence loss of fat is essential than the weight loss through loss of water, muscle or bone.

What has made slimming centers or weight-loss centers boom recently in our country?

A boom of slimming centers in our country in recent times may well be attributed in one way to the 'heath awareness’ created by health magazines, fitness guides, fitness programmes, easily available on video cassettes etc. and on the other hand to the fashion magazines and western outfits creating, a cosmetic 'thin is in vogue.' The basic idea of a slimming centre or a weight loss centre is to scientifically help an obese person to trim excess fat off. What should otherwise have place under the banner of medical profession has now become a multimillion-rupee cosmetic business.

What precaution should I take in joining a slimming centre or a weight-loss centre?

Any one suffering from a serious weight problem should certainly not join a slimming centre or a weight loss centre without a proper understanding of the difference between just weight loss on one hand and fat-loss leading to weight loss on the other hand.

The body is made up of four major tissues: Muscles, Bones, Water and fat. It is possible to lose weight by reduction in weight of all the four tissues at a time or by reduction in any of them in muscles and water or by combination such as reduction in any one of them singly such as only muscles or only bones or only water or only fat.

A reduction in the weight of body tissues such as muscles, bones and water is dangerous and has nothing to do with the treatment of obesity. A weight loss programme could prove dangerous if it includes"

1. Loss of muscles: could include loss of the muscles of the heart, liver, kidney, brain etc. sometimes irreversibly.

2. Loss of bones: (rare but possible) in the form of their becoming, porous (osteomalacia) or thinning out and is of grave medical concern.

3. Loss of water: if it is medically proved that a person is suffering from retention of water (oedema) in such excess amounts as to cause harm and aggravate certain serious conditions such as high blood pressure, congestive cardiac failure, swelling of the body during pregnancy etc. Then attempts under medical guidance must be made to remove excess water, keeping a close monitoring on levels of vital elements such as potassium, (K+) etc., for fear of possible dehydration. "No attempt is justified in administering diuretics or water loss drugs to a normal obese person to effect weight loss."

All such weight loss programmes involving especially muscle loss or water loss can be manipulated to give 'quick' or miraculous weight loss, as the speed of weight loss in this case depends on the 'eagerness of the obese person and the intensity given by the concerned centre.' Such quick weight loss programmes obviously end up landing the obese person into serious side effects" loss of hair, face pale, drawn and haggard, weakness, wrinkling of skin, loss of appetite, nausea, irritation, lack of sleep, etc., and dangerous consequences of health: damage to vital organs, kidney, liver, heart, brain, etc.

What are the various possible ways to induce quick-weight loss in obese person?

1. Appetite Suppressing drugs: An increase in their dosage can severely reduce food intake leading to quick weight loss in the form of 'muscle' loss.

2. Diuretics: Their over use can lead to severe and rapid 'water’ loss in the form of urine.

3. Diets: Such as various fad diets, starvation programmes etc. depending on their severity lead to rapid muscle and water losses.

What is a diuretic? How do they act?

Kidney is an unique organ of excretion. It holds back useful elements in the blood and allows only waste material to pass out of the body in the form of urine. This property of the kidney is called selective filtration. Drugs belonging to the diuretic group, when taken by an obese person (or even non obese person), lead to diuresis, a forceful expulsion of water in the form of urine, by inhibiting the Selective Filtration action of the kidneys. This forceful removal of water leads to weight loss obviously water, not fat and the weight is regained once water is drunk.

The Diuretics, along with forceful removal of water also cause loss, of vital elements (K+) potassium, (Na+) sodium etc. Causing harmful side effects similar to dehydration.

Is it safe to use Laxatives or Purgatives for treatment of obesity?

These group of drugs act by speeding the movements of the intestines thereby preventing absorption of digested food in the gastro-intestinal tract. This causes frequent passage of stools (diarrhea) with water resulting into weight loss. Unfortunately the weight loss is fluid and nutritive material from the intestines and not fat loss. The resulting thirst soon leads to drinking more water and lost weight is quickly regained.

Continual abuse of laxatives and purgatives for weight loss can seriously interfere with digestion and absorption of food, and will eventually cause loss of weight through malnutrition.

I'm more than 20 percent overweight but I'm happy and satisfied with my life, so why should I care about my weight?

Being overweight, and particularly, being obese, is bad for your health, even if you're only slightly overweight. It is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and is linked to a higher inci­dence of diabetes, which you are twice as likely than a person of normal weight to develop. In addition, it is associated with seve­ral types of cancers, gout, gallbladder disease & other diseases.

At 240 pounds, i have more than 80 pounds to lose. 1 feei like I'll never achieve that. Should I just give up?

No. Losing as little as five to 10 percent of your body weight - in your case, 12 to 24 pounds - can significantly improve your health. Health care professionals recommend that your first effort at losing weight should be at this level followed by a period of maintenance before trying to lose more.

I realize I need to lose weight; how should I get started?

The safest way to lose weight is, in most cases, to eat a nutritionally complete diet that cuts about 250 calories a day from the number of calories your body requires to maintain its present weight, plus add an exercise regime that burns an additional 250 calories a day. If you do this, you will lose about a pound a week.

Do I have to exercise?

No, you don't have to. But not only will exercise make the weight come off more quickly and easily, it will make your weight loss much easier to maintain. If you do lose the weight without exercising, you will still be unfit, which in itself is a health hazard.

What effect can a very under active thyroid gland have on an adult?

The thyroid gland is located in the neck directly in front of the windpipe. Under the control- of the pituitary, it secretes a hormone called thyroxin which is rich in iodine and which helps the body burn up fat. if your thyroid is particularly active you reduce fat to water and carbon dioxide much more quickly. If the thyroid is inactive, the fat turnover is slowed down. Since less fat is burnt, more fat is stored. An under active thyroid gland can and does cause excessive weight gain.

How is my pancreas related to obesity?

The main function of pancreas is the secretion of insulin, a substance which is vital in the control of fat formation. Among other things, insulin speeds up the body's transformation of carbohydrate into fat. It also works on the storing of this fat and inhibits the release of fat already stored. Obese persons, as a group, tend to have an over responsive pancreas gland and produce excessive quantities of insulin. When they eat a certain amount of carbohydrate, they get a higher rise in insulin than a person who is not obese, leading to the formation of and storage of fat in the body.

What effect can a very under active pituitary gland have an adult?

Pituitary produces two hormones, which directly affect the manner in which the system utilizes fat. One of these pituitary hormones promotes the deposition of fat in the fat cells. The other stimulates the release of fat from cells. When you produce these hormones in proper amounts, your body's equilibrium is more likely to be maintained. When you produce these hormones in quantities that do not match, there will be trouble, probably in the shape of obesity. Most obese people have no pituitary disturbance, but it is important to know that for some, however few, pituitary disturbance may be the cause of obesity.

Does too much or too less of a hormone cause obesity or is it the other way round?

When certain people are under tension, their system puts out more of an adrenal gland secretion called cortisone, which tends to increase the appetite. These people are stress eaters.

They feel better when they eat, This leads to overindulgence of food, Result, Obesity. On the other hand, if a person is overweight, this might alter his body's metabolism, so that the adrenal glands tend to be over responsive in stress situations leading, to increase in appetite, overindulgence of food and

resultant obesity. But the question is, what has led to obesity? Has increased amount of cortisone caused obesity or has obesity caused increase in secretion of cortisone? In short, it is difficult to say; "Which is the cart and which is the horse?" with regard to over weight and obese individuals.

What about the roie of sex glands in adults?

The sex glands in adults also have some role to play in obesity, particularly in governing the distribution of fat. .We know that while a man acquires fat at the back of his neck and his waist, a woman tends to acquire it on the buttocks and on the thighs.

If a man suffer s from a disease or undergoes an accident necessitating the removal of his testicles, his fat distribution will become feminine; that is he will put on fat on the buttocks and on the thighs. He will also be likely to put on more over-ali fat, A woman whose ovaries have been removed similarly tends to become fat. The sex glands in adults have a role in a small minority of obesity cases.

Is there a special treatment for spot reduction such as hips, thighs, breasts etc.?

Often, an obese person is less alarmed by general body weight than by hips, waistline, thighs or arms that bulge where they shouldn't. They are natural prospects for 'spot reducing' gadgets which promise to flatten the local bulges. Sauna belts, rollers, vibrators and many more are examples.

Science has proved that two things are necessary to lose weight. effectively, one; follow a medically oriented weight loss programme so that you burn up excess fat. Two : exercise those areas you specifically wish to reduce, tone and firm.

There is no such thing as a magic pill/remedy/gadget for spot reduction that can specifically reduce hips, thighs, breasts etc.

What is Fat Loss Forever programme?

Fat loss forever is a scientifically designed, weight reduction through long-term fat loss based on integrated, multi-disciplinary, evidence based medicine with clinically validated diagnostic and treatment protocols.

Fat loss forever focuses on diagnosing obesity, diagnosing causes of obesity & risks associated with obesity and treating obesity (sustained fat loss than weight loss) & treating causes of obesity and risks associated with obesity.

The philosophy of fat loss forever is to enable people to lead positive, confident, healthy & fulfilled lives using science and latest medical technologies, safely and economically.