Obesity- Reasons and Measures

This essay explores the major reasons of obesity and suggests intervention measures to curb it. It discusses the impact of genetics, overeating, and physical inactivity on obesity.

Running head: OBESITY- REASONS AND MEASURES
Obesity- Reasons and Measures
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1Obesity- Reasons and Measures
In the fast paced world, people are now faced with many illnesses and diseases related
to their changing habits and changing lifestyles. One of the major diseases that is prevalent in
the society is Obesity.
Definition:
Overweight or obesity, as per the WHO definition, is the abnormal or excessive
accumulation of fat, that causes health hazards. Obesity is the major risk factor for a number
of chronic diseases including, diabetes and heart diseases and even, it can cause cancer
(Mann et al. 2015).
Thesis Statement:
In the following essay, the major reasons of obesity will be looked into, and further,
the intervention measures will be suggested as per the factors, causing obesity.
Reasons:
The major causes of obesity, as found by the researchers are essentially,
Genetics: According to the researchers and the medical experts, Genetics is one of the
major reasons for the people to suffer from obesity. The medical experts have opined that the
Genetics of a person regulates the hormones that regulate fat. For example, the Leptin
hormone, which is produced in the fat cells and the placenta, is one of the hormones that
regulates a person’s weight. It signals the brain to eat less, when the fat storage is seen to be
high (Ge et al., 2013). Due to the affected Genetic system, the brain cannot produce this
signal, which further leads to over eating by the person, as the brain loses its control over the
brain. This further leads to obesity.
Intervention: The obesity caused by Genetics is little difficult to curb. However, it can be
curbed with the correct choices of food. Due to Genetic issues the individuals are found to be

2Obesity- Reasons and Measures
craving for food and end up having unhealthy food. Therefore, the individuals with obesity
should practice the habit of having fresh fruits and vegetables, at times of their cravings. This
would check their health and the level of obesity (Mann et al. 2015).
Overeating: Overeating is another major cause of the increased level of obesity. In the
modern world, the people spend most of the hours of the day working or at office. Therefore,
this increases the craving for food among the people, which further leads to the practice of
overeating among them. Further the increased work pressure, increases the level of stress
among the individuals, which further increases the carving for food, among the people and
heightens the level of obesity (GOV.UK, 2019).
Intervention: This can be dealt by maintaining a food “check book”. This refers to
understanding the food that on is having and gaining knowledge of the portions of fat,
carbohydrate and protein consisted within the food that one is having. Further, the individuals
can also weigh the food that they are having. The individuals must avoid the food consisting
more oil and cheese and other item that are similar, and also must avoid the super-sized menu
items (Plan, 2019).
Physical Inactivity: The habit of not indulging into any kind of physical activities is
another major reason for the people to suffer from obesity. The sedentary people are likely to
burn fewer calories than the people maintaining an active life (Cleobury and Tapper. 2014).
Intervention: One of the major reason for not indulging into any kind of physical activities, is
the work timings of the people. They get lesser time for themselves, however, individuals
must get time for themselves and indulge into some physical activities. One of the most
effective way of indulging into physical activities is to weigh themselves regularly, this will
create a zeal to involve oneself into certain physical activities, and will further help in curbing
obesity (Wyatt, 2013).

3Obesity- Reasons and Measures
Obesity can lead to lot of health diseases, one of the major of them is, heart diseases.
It is often seen that the people suffering from obesity are the one who are more likely to
suffer from heart attacks or strokes. It can further lead to certain other health issues, like
thyroid, increased blood pressure, sugar and the like. Therefore, people must incorporate
certain healthy habits in order to curb the level of obesity.

4Obesity- Reasons and Measures
References:
Cleobury, L. and Tapper, K., 2014. Reasons for eating ‘unhealthy’snacks in overweight and
obese males and females. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 27(4), pp.333-341.
Ge, Z.J., Luo, S.M., Lin, F., Liang, Q.X., Huang, L., Wei, Y.C., Hou, Y., Han, Z.M.,
Schatten, H. and Sun, Q.Y., 2013. DNA methylation in oocytes and liver of female mice and
their offspring: effects of high-Fat-diet–induced obesity. Environmental health
perspectives, 122(2), pp.159-164.
GOV.UK. (2019). Adult obesity: applying All Our Health. [online] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-obesity-applying-all-our-health/adult-
obesity-applying-all-our-health [Accessed 12 Jun. 2019].
Mann, J.P., Jakes, A.D., Hayden, J.D. and Barth, J.H., 2015. Systematic review of definitions
of failure in revisional bariatric surgery. Obesity surgery, 25(3), pp.571-574.
Plan, N. (2019). Obesity. [online] NHS Long Term Plan. Available at:
https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/online-version/chapter-2-more-nhs-action-on-prevention-
and-health-inequalities/obesity/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2019].
Wyatt, H.R., 2013. Update on treatment strategies for obesity. The Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology & Metabolism, 98(4), pp.1299-1306.