Obesity: Prevalence, Causes, Risk Factors and Interventions

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Introduction
Obesity is defined as a chronic condition, where an individual suffers from excess
body fat. In order to lead a healthy life, certain quantity of body fat is essential to carry out
activities like shock absorption, heat insulation, storing energy and other associated activities
(Bray et al. 2016). Obesity is defined by calculating the body mass index ratio (BMI). BMI
exhibits the weight of an individual that is directly related with their height. This study will
highlight the prevalence rate of obesity, the factors that result in obesity with their associated
risk factors and also highlight the interventions for preventing obesity (Lobstein et al. 2015).
Prevalence rate of obesity
Obesity is considered as the most common issue that is faced by the population of UK
affecting 1 in every 4 adults in UK and 1 in every 5 children, aged between 10 to 11. Obesity
is considered as the complex disorder that increase the risk of other health issues like
diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases. In 2014, approximately 62% of the
population of England were recognized as obese or overweight with the body mass index of
25 and above (Nhs.uk, 2019).
Causes of obesity
It is very important for an individual to maintain an efficient balance between the total
energy expenditure and the calorie intake in order to determine the weight of an individual
(Allender et al. 2015). The most common cause of obesity are physical inactivity and
overeating, because if an individual eat more food and intake high amount of calories, they
fail to burn such high amount of energy that ultimately result in obesity. Hence, the factors
that causes obesity are as follows (Apovian 2016):
 Genetics- An individual is more prone to adapt obesity or overweight if any of their
parents were suffering from obesity. Genetics affect the hormones that are involved in

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regulating the fat and therefore result in the condition of obesity. For example, Leptin
deficiency is considered as the cause of obesity due to genetics. Leptin is involved in
controlling the weight as they are the hormone that is produced within the fat cells
and placenta.
 Overeating- Overeating is one of the major cause that result in obesity and
overweight. Individuals consume food that consist of high amount of sugar or fat (like
sweets, fried food and fast food) and also have enhanced energy density that
ultimately contribute in increasing the weight of an individual. Epidemiologic
educations have exhibited that high fat diet are majorly responsible for obesity in both
children and adults (Brownell and Walsh 2017).
 A diet with increased consumption of carbohydrates- Consumption of
carbohydrate is not directly related to weight gain but in turn increases the blood
sugar concentration that triggers the release of insulin from pancreas. Insulin
stimulates the development and accumulation of fat that eventually result in obesity.
Example of carbohydrates includes fructose, soft drinks, beer, sugars, desserts and
wine.
 Regularity of eating- The relationship between the regularity of eating and obesity is
controversial. Researchers believe that the people who consume food less frequently
tend to have higher cholesterol level and their blood sugar level is also not stable as
large gap in consuming meals produces high insulin level that ultimately result in
overweight as compared to people who consume food in regular and small intervals.
 Physical Inactivity- According to The National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (NHANES), the people who are highly active burn high amount of calories as
compared to sedentary people. Hence, physical activity is directly related to obesity in
both males and females of all ages.