Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories from food than he or she burns. Our bodies need calories to sustain life and be physically active, but to maintain weight we need to balance the energy we eat with the energy we use.
When a person eats more calories than he or she burns, the energy balance is tipped toward weight gain and obesity. This imbalance between calories-in and calories-out may differ from one person to another. Genetic, environmental, and other factors may all play a part.
Genetic Factors Concerning Abdominal Obesity and ED
Obesity tends to run in families, suggesting a genetic cause. However, families also share diet and lifestyle habits that may contribute to obesity. Separating genetic from other influences on obesity is often difficult. Even so, science does show a link between obesity and heredity.
Environmental and Social Factors Concerning Abdominal Obesity and ED
Environment strongly influences obesity. Consider that most people in the United States alive today were also alive in 1980, when obesity rates were lower. Since this time, our genetic make-up has not changed, but our environment has.
Environment includes lifestyle behaviors such as what a person eats and his or her level of physical activity. Too often Americans eat out, consume large meals and high-fat foods, and put taste and convenience ahead of nutrition. Also, most people in the United States do not get enough physical activity.
Environment also includes the world around us—our access to places to walk and healthy foods, for example.
Today, more people drive long distances to work instead of walking, live in neighborhoods without sidewalks, tend to eat out or get “take out” instead of cooking, or have vending machines with high-calorie, high-fat snacks at their workplace. Our environment often does not support healthy habits.
Abdominal obesity, also known as belly fat, refers to excess weight in the abdominal, or stomach area. Those who tend to store excess body fat around their stomach and abdomen take on the look of being "apple-shaped".
Abdominal obesity is typically measured by waist circumference.A measurement of 40 inches or more in men is an indicator of abdominal obesity.
Excess fat in the abdomen is considered an independent predictor of risk factors and morbidity. The likelihood for developing disease, including diabetes, hypertension and erectile dysfunction, is higher for those with abdominal obesity.
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In addition, social factors including poverty and a lower level of education have been linked to obesity.
However, the link between low socio-economic status and obesity has not been conclusively established, and recent research shows that obesity is also increasing among high-income groups.
Although you cannot change your genetic makeup, you can work on changing your eating habits, levels of physical activity, and other environmental factors. Try these ideas:
* Learn to choose sensible portions of nutritious meals that are lower in fat, or even better, without fat.
* Learn to recognize and control environmental cues (like inviting smells or a package of cookies on the counter) that make you want to eat when you are not hungry.
* Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (like brisk walking) on most, preferably all, days of the week.
* Take a walk instead of watching television. Better yet, get rid of your television!
* Eat meals and snacks at a table, not in front of the TV.
* Keep records of your food intake and physical activity.