What is Obesity and How To Avoid It?

Obesity has become a common problem and spreading fast among every age groups. If you gain excess body weight which may put a negative effect on your health then you are under obesity attack. 

How do you confirm that you are obese or not? To confirm this, first check your body mass index (BMI). If your BMI index is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. In other words, if your body weight is at least 20% higher than it should be, you might be obese.

You can check your BMI here. Following is the Body Mass index (BMI) category:-

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Now you are clear about body mass index and you might have checked your BMI. If you are under normal weight category then its ok but if your BMI is greater than 29.9 then you need to pay attention to your weight. You should avoid become obese because it can bring you nothing but the diseases.

Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Overall, you can say that obesity reduces the life expectancy.

What are the causes of Obesity?

There are different factors which affects obesity. Unhealthy lifestyle has greater contribution to make you obese. Following are the other causes of obesity:-

• Eating more kilojoules (energy) than you need can add up the extra fat to your body.

• Reduction in physical activity due to your desk job, sitting in front of computer and TV, drive car even for a small distance etc.

• It is found that the people with lower education and income level likely to be more obese because they have less opportunity to eat healthy foods.

• Obesity can be caused due to genetics factor. If your parents are overweight than it may be possible that you have risk of obesity.

• No or poor nutrition and low birth weight can make you obese in the later part of your life. There is convincing evidence showing that breastfeeding infants compared with formula feeding is associated with a reduced risk of becoming obese.

How to avoid obesity?

Obesity is harmful to you and linked with the overweight. There are many health conditions which may arise due to your overweight like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes etc. But you can avoid and control this problem.

Here are the methods to deal with obesity:-

Physical Exercise

Exercising regularly is the key to getting rid of obesity. Obesity makes you lazy and you feel distracted in any work. 

Experts recommended at least 30 minutes of exercise on regular basis to remain fit.

Start from body stretching exercises and controlling your breath. Do not stretch your body too much. Do exercises regularly and daily. You can take a day break.

You can start with the moderate intensity exercises like walking, jogging, swimming and tennis. If you can increase the intensity slightly then high knees, Burpees, push-up on knees are the good exercises to start.

Eat Healthy Food

With regular exercise, eating healthy is also very important. First of all, avoid all the junk foods and the food which uses oil to prepare. Oily food is the main reason of weight gain because it increases fat in the body. Eat fruits and vegetables more. Eat salad regularly, it has fibers.

Drink lemon water early in the morning is good for your stomach.

Healthy Food includes:-

• Fat-free and low-fat dairy products, such as low-fat yogurt, cheese, and milk. 

• Whole-grain foods, such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and brown rice. Other grain foods include pasta, cereal, bagels, bread, tortillas, couscous, and crackers. 

• Fruits, which can be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried. 

• Vegetables, which can be fresh, canned (without salt), frozen, or dried. 

• Protein foods, such as lean meat, fish, poultry without skin, beans, and peas. 

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. While eating healthy food and avoiding oily food, take care of your nutrition intake. If necessary, take food supplements like Omega-3.

Be Active and Think Positive

Positive thinking about yourself and around you make you happy. It will have positive impact on your health. Be active all the time. Involve yourself in your daily activities. Think positive and try not to get tense under difficult situations.

Make a list of your works and complete those which have the highest priority.

This makes you feel great and you can focus on your diet. A healthy diet with regular exercise and positive thinking can help you to get rid of obesity.