The Impact of Obesity on Health: A Literature Review on Fitness

This report presents a literature review on the relationship between obesity and fitness, exploring the impact of obesity on health and the role of physical activity in mitigating its effects. The review examines the causes of obesity, including lifestyle factors such as diet and reduced physical activity, and the resulting health consequences, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. The report highlights the benefits of regular exercise, including weight management, improved cardiovascular health, and enhanced cognitive function. It also discusses the role of physicians and healthcare professionals in promoting fitness and healthy eating habits. The review incorporates a range of academic sources, identifying the significance of addressing obesity through physical activity and healthy lifestyle interventions, with recommendations for future research and community-based strategies.

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Introduction
Currently obesity has evolved as a serious epidemic that have potential to affect the
community members’ quality of life. As a result, this health concern has turned out to be a
major risk factor that leads to several form of physical and mental complications. Presently,
there are approximately 300 million people suffering from obesity (Crump, Sundquist,
Winkleby, & Sundquist, 2017) and affects children, teenagers, adult (both gender), and
elderly people. With the modern lifestyle, food habit and working pattern has changed which
is accompanied with reduced physical activity. The end result is an increase residue of
calories which makes people completely fatigue and further obese. Some of the major
diseases associated with obesity include diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, arthritis,
and heart disease. Additionally, it also affects the mental health status of individual, leading
to consequences such as depression, lethargy, reduced cognitive capabilities, and insomnia
(Cattuzzo et al 2016). According to Kalantar-Zadeh & Ahmadi, (2016), the average medical
expenditure dedicated to the concern of obesity is more than $147 billion. In the US alone,
more than one-third of the adult population as well as 17% young population suffers from
obesity (Kokkinos, Narayan, Faselis, Myers, and Lavie, 2018). Therefore, it is recommended
for obese people to be involved in physical activities such as fast walking, swimming,
jogging, and tennis (Crump, et al 2017). These activities can help people to lose weight and
become fit.
In the present report the focus is on the discussion of the negative impact of obesity on the
health of community members. As a counter measure, the role of fitness activities to control
such effects has been discussed. Further, the reports have presented a set of recommendations
as a requisite approach to combat obesity related concern.
Impact of physical activity on obesity
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The primary cause of obesity in the modern living environment is categorized by the daily
energy expenditure and consumption of food supply, which maintains adequate energy
balance. Excessive caloric intake and reduced physical activity, results in an overall alteration
of body mass index (BMI) distribution and maximizes the prevalence of obesity (Garaulet,
Martinez-Nicolas, Ruiz, Konstabel, and Labayen, 2017). In terms of medical assessment, a
BMI more than 30 is considered obese. It is presumed that the prime risk factor associated
with the negative consequences of obesity is the overall adiposity that weakens the physical
and mental wellbeing status of individuals. Experts suggest that each individual should
involve in at least 2 to 5 hours of moderate to intensity fitness activities each week (Oktay,
Lavie, Kokkinos, Parto, & Pandey, 2017). The fitness routine not only include physical
activity but also a healthy eating habit. For obese patients, the family physician plays an
important role in guiding and counselling for healthy intervention which can prevent (or
control) the onset of obesity.
As discussed in the above section, obesity leads to other health problems including type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other factors leading to mortality. Absence of physical
fitness and obesity are both associated with clinical risk indicators such as fasting plasma
glucose, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers. Often it is considered difficult for
individuals to reduce weight, therefore care must be accounted on the prevention strategies
against “weight gain” at an early stage. It is evident that children involved in physical
exercise and staying fit have slowed down the spread of obesity in the middle age (Crump, et
al 2017). Thus, it is justifiable that people remaining active in routine schedule tends to
maintain a weight steady. In contrary, the more sedentary and lethargic lifestyle, the
individuals are likely to gain weight with time (Schmidt, Weschenfelder, Sander, Minkwitz,
and Thormann, 2015). Exercise combined with a low-calorie (however “balanced”) eating
plan is one of the best methods they promote weight loss. It has been evidenced that
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continuous exercise can have a significant impact on body weight by curbing the body fat and
abdominal fat.
As argued by Schmidt et al., 2015, physical exercise enhances the total energy expenditure
for an individual which can help them to maintain energy balance by burning extra calories. It
also helps in reducing the fat accumulated especially around the waist, which substantially
slows down the spread of abdominal obesity. Routine exercise also tends to increase the
stamina that is required by the body to burn fat, and makes easier to control the overall
weight (Althoff, Hicks, King, Delp, & Leskovec, 2017).
Apart from weight control, physical fitness also reduces anxiety and depression. A healthy
mind is always motivated tours aligning with exercise regimes and a healthy diet over time
(Katzmarzyk, Barreira, Broyles, Champagne, and Chaput, 2015). In this regard support can
also be obtained with scientifically proved fitness examinations. The fitness tests required to
identify the changes in obesity in an individual includes both aerobic test and muscular test.
The aerobic test includes a Distance run test, walk test, VO2max direct-Bike, VO2max
direct-Treadmill. While the muscular test includes, push up, a standing broad jump, a
weighted ball throw, Curl up and Sit-up (Chin, Kahathuduwa, & Binks, 2016).
The link between fitness and obesity
Obesity is determined by body mass index BMI which is a measure of the fat in the body on
the basis of height and weight (Monteiro, do Prado, dos Santos, Ricardo, and Tomaz, 2018).
Majority of the community members are unaware of the appropriate normal weight to remain
fit. For instance, a person having a height 5 ft. 7’ should not weigh more than 160 pounds.
While the same person is considered obese if the weight is 190 pounds (Jakicic, Rogers,
Davis, & Collins, 2018). There exists misconception among people for being obese and unfit.
The obese people cannot be considered as unfit if they regularly continue physical exercise,
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on the other hand, a thin person can be called as unfit if there is no physical fitness in life. It
is a matter of fact that “fatness” often makes it harder to improve the physical “fitness” of an
individual (Bener, Al-Hamaq, Kurtulus, Abdullatef, & Zirie, 2016). It is worth arguing that,
for individuals with obesity, willing to lose weight, must focus to start doing an exercise
rather than aiming at fitness. Often, during initial period, it might be difficult to perform
physical activity, because of their body size, restricted mobility, and the issue of joint pain.
Psychologically, an obese individual is not able to do the same amount of exercise as
compared to a healthy weight person. They require more oxygen than a healthy weight
person to do the same amount of exercise (Jin, & Jones-Smith, 2015). Unlike other people,
these people are not able to spend quality time with their family recreational activities such as
roller coaster, dancing, and many more, which eventually creates mental dissatisfaction.
Avoiding obesity through fitness
Obesity can be reduced the help of physical fitness activities which can further help to
prevent other obesity-related diseases. Some of these diseases having a positive impact
through fitness includes:
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease - Studies have revealed that obesity is an unbiased
predictor of cardiovascular disease in both women and men (Cattuzzo, dos Santos Henrique,
de Oliveira, and Melo, 2016). However, involvement in routine physical activities helps in
strengthening heart muscle which in turn brings down the blood pressure and raises high-
density lipoprotein, and accumulation of “good” cholesterol. This helps in the improvement
of blood flow leading to the better working capacity of the heart and minimizes the risk of
stroke or any heart disease (Bener et al 2016).
Cognitive decline - Based on the research on community-based Framingham Offspring, it has
been identified that obesity tends to increase the negative impact on visual-motor skills and
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cognitive function (Júdice, Silva, Berria, Petroski, and Ekelund, 2017). However, this impact
can be counterbalanced by achieving physical fitness. Further, the obesity among childhood
is also linked with absenteeism, irregularity in classes, lack of concentration, and thus is also
associated with declining cognitive capabilities.
Arthritis - Obesity increases the pressure on joints quit results in inflammation (de Souto
Barreto, Morley, Chodzko-Zajko, Pitkala, Weening-Djiksterhuis, 2016). For such a reason, it
is suggested to work at least 10 to 30 minutes each day, which in turn can reduce the fatigue
associated with “activities” (or mobility). According to the Vice president, Arthritis
Foundation, physical activity can provide ease to the joint pain and improve the mobility of
the person (Cattuzzo et al., 2016).
Cancers - Cancer of the breast, gallbladder, uterus, kidney, pancreas, rectum and thyroid are
related to obesity. Based on the data of National Cancer institute surveillance, 2007, more
than 34,000 cases of cancer have been traced to be related with obesity conditions. Thus, it
becomes an urgent requirement to incorporate physical exercise and reduce obesity along
with its associated diseases (Crump et al., 2017).
Depression and anxiety - Report from the National Institute of Mental Health reported that
there is a strong connection between obesity and mental illness symptoms (Gielen, Laughlin,
O’Conner, & Duncker, 2015). Thus, it is recommended that community members must
remain engaged in physical fitness-related activities like exercise and yoga. Correspondingly,
it also helps in offering a positive psychological impact and certainly helps in handling stress
effectively (Júdice et al 2017).
Role of Physician in fitness approach
The direct relationship between obesity and chronic health concern is a significant reason to
motivate physicians for diverting part of their time in consulting the patients. The interactive
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communication with the patient must be considered on the provision; (i) to understand the
requirement of physical activity and (ii) importance of balanced nutrition as an equivalent
part of a healthy lifestyle (Herman, McGinnity, Doll, Peterson, and Russell, 2015). In such
approaches, the clinicians and healthcare workers must recognize the patient at high-risk and
educate them by addressing a positive health behavioural strategy (Triantafillidis, Vagianos,
Gikas, Korontzi, & Papalois, 2017). According to the Office of US Surgeon General, it is
recommended to the physicians that they must engage their patients with knowledge of
obesity-related risk and the corresponding positive impact of regular exercise and good
nutrition (Kalantar-Zadeh, et al 2016). Also, it is possible to frame partnership with teachers,
organizational heads, and social workers to advocate the health benefits to the community
members.
Further, Oktay et al (2017), argued that if obese individuals continues to maintain an inactive
and sedentary lifestyle then there is an increased risk to other diseases, even at a younger age.
Some of the patient-centred approaches with weight management issues include
consideration such as provision for physician to identify the obstacle in healthy eating habits.
Accordingly they can give suggestions to the patient for alternative (healthy) food choices.
Such provisions certainly help individuals to lead a healthy and physically fit lifestyle (Jae,
Yoon, Kim, Choi, and Fernhall, 2016). In this context, the advocacy for the recommendation
to adopt suitable behavioural approaches are also valuable. For example, strategies related to
reducing stress, food journaling, cognitive behavioural therapy, and building a social support
network (Garaulet, et al 2017), constitutes the requisite behavioural attitudes. These strategies
would help the patient to remain engaged and divert their attention from continuous food
eating habits. In accordance to the report by Kalantar-Zadeh, et al 2016, the physician can
also set a practical and achievable goal in conjunction with physical activity. In this strategy,
the patients are assisted to reduce their weight by setting fitness goals and providing tips to
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maintain a healthy lifestyle. Individuals were also informed about the requisite nutrition
requirement and appropriate supplement use in their daily diet. Similar support to these
arguments can also be found from the report of Jae et al, 2016, where the authors also argued
that in order to combat obesity, advocacy is essential in direction to minimizing the
consumption of fast food, corned based sweeteners, fried food, and tobacco smoke.
Recommendations
It is highly essential for the community members to remain moderately active to reduce
chronic disease which are arising because of obesity conditions. The term moderately active,
refers to a minimum of 30 minutes activity each day. Some of the moderate-intensity
activities which can be performed in routine life include brisk walking (at least 2 miles per
hour), tennis, dancing, and gardening (Bener et al 2016). However, to transform into
“physically fit”, it is necessary for the obese person to get involved in vigorous physical
exercise for at least one hour a day, such as hiking, aerobic dancing, jumping rope, heavy
yard work and swimming (Jakicic et al 2018).
As recommended in the report by Gielen et al., 2015, leaving behind the sedentary lifestyle
will definitely have a positive impact on health and well-being status. Staying physically fit is
not an individual choice, but is dependent on the neighbourhoods, surrounding environment,
and other facilities. People tend to be diverted towards an active life if they have a
playground, parks along with sidewalks in their neighbourhood. For this purpose, the local
and state government should introduce several policies towards the development of physical
surroundings. It should implement strategies for creating a safe and active environment for
walking and cycling. If the schools, colleges, and shops are nearby to houses, then it
recommended to cover it on foot. Similarly, the corporate organizations also offer space for
physical activity, gym, and breaks for moderate walk, which in turn can help employees to
stay fit.
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Apart from physical exercise, proper food habit also plays an important role in reducing
obesity. Individuals and their family members should not encourage overeating and junk food
(Jakicic et al 2018). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), incorporating
healthy eating habits and doing exercise is essential for maintaining a good life (Knapen,
Vancampfort, Moriën, & Marchal, 2015). Obese people should reduce the conjunction of
sugary and fatty products and switch towards fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts.
Vegetable-based oil is more preferable than using animal based fat (Cattuzzo et al 2016). The
possible solution for fitness can be concluded as “walk more and eat less”. These kinds of
small activities in regular life can help to make physical fitness as an integral part of everyday
life and turn off the obesity epidemic.
Conclusions
In summary, the present report illustrates the concept of physical fitness and impact of
obesity. The primary reason for high prevalence of obesity is linked with food habit, reduced
activity, and technological support that reduces mobility. Consequently, the ill effect of
obesity is associated with several chronic illness which affects both physical and mental
status. Notably, the concern of obesity is equally shared among both gender as well as people
of all age groups. In the present report, a set of recommendation is presented that argued
about moderate physical activity and engagement in environmental purpose to achieve the
moderately active hours per day. Also, a note to the responsibility of physicians and health
care professionals is given which recommend advocacy of health knowledge, measures to
remain fit, and the benefits associated within. This also include partnership with teachers and
social workers for advocacy. As a matter of fact, achieving physical fitness not only reduces
the stress level, but is also effective in achieving quality of life years.
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