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What Is Obesity? It’s Both Simple and Complex
What is obesity? It is simply “increased body weight due to excessive accumulation of fat.”
If you are concerned about an overweight condition, even this vague understanding can help, though it's better to define "excessive accumulation." But the subject is far more complex than a quick dictionary definition.
If we want to answer the question, “What is obesity?” we may want to ask first: What is fat, the thing we have too much of?
Fat, or adipose tissue in animals, is a form of glycerol and fatty acid in a soft, semisolid state.
How much fat a person carries on their body is generally determined by how much of the substance is eaten in the food or how much of the food we eat converts to fat.
For example, animals eat carbohydrates and this is easily converted to fat. (Carbohydrates are compounds such as sugars and starches). When this process results in an amount of fat that is beyond what doctors consider average, obesity results.
This may lead us to think that we can answer the question, “What is obesity?” by quoting facts based on food intake. In a way, this is true. The word “obesity” comes from the Latin “obesus,” which generally meant stout, fat or plump.
If we go back even further, the Latin word comes from “edere,” which means, “to eat.” This connection between eating, stored energy and fat is at the core of medical studies on obesity. Too much eating, especially of the wrong foods, can lead to obesity.
So now, when someone asks, “What is obesity?” we can answer with complete confidence, right?
Not necessarily. Medical experts and nutrition experts who have spent a lifetime studying obesity know that there is even more to the picture than meets the eye.
We may come closer to answering the question, “What is obesity?” by asking what causes obesity. The correct answer to that question is, “A lot of things contribute to obesity.”
For many people, being overweight or obese comes down to eating too much and exercising too little. However, these are just two factors in a long list of items now recognized as legitimate issues in obesity treatment.
Other factors affecting weight or obesity include:
Age
The body does not use up food energy as quickly when we grow olderGender
Women tend to be more overweight than men, who burn more energy when at restPsychological factors
Some people respond to emotional changes and stress by eating moreMedication
Certain drugs, such as steroids and some antidepressants, may cause excessive weight gainIllness
There are some illnesses that can cause obesityGenetics
Obesity tends to run in familiesSo, when someone asks, “What is obesity?” we can start the conversation with the idea that there are many factors relating to age, gender, psychology, medications, disease and illness and family genetics that may help answer this question, in addition to diet and exercise.
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