Basic Health Care Series

Obesity

This book on obesity has been written in a very different way — not those typical book type — which preaches high and mighty things. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility. A few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders, medications, or mental illness. Evidence to support the view that obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is not generally supported. On average, obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass. Obesity is mostly preventable through a combination of social changes and personal choices. Changes to diet and exercising are the main treatments. Diet plays an important role in the genesis of obesity. Personal choices, advertising, social customs and cultural influences, as well as food availability and pricing all play a role in determining what and how much an individual eats. This book has been written not in the usual format of cause-effect-treatment. When we are in the house we get to eat only what is in the kitchen but when we go to a cafeteria, we can get whatever we want, and of there is also the advantage of self-service.