Obesity facts

Obesity increases the likelihood of various disease, particularly heart disease, diabetes type 2, breathing dificulties during sleep, certain types of cancer and osteoarthritis. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietery calories, lack of physical activity, and genetic suspectibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications or psychiatric illness. Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited; on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass This a medical condition in which excess, when our body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.