Obesity in Adults

Adult Obesity generally occurs when a person has a higher rate of food and calorie intake than what they are expending. This extra energy is stored in the body as fat and when this reaches a certain level you are classified as obese. An unbalanced lifestyle of eating the wrong foods and in the wrong portions whilst not completing any or the right level of exercise can lead to obesity in adults.

Obesity is defined according to the Body Mass Index or BMI. This is a simple calculation that divides a persons weight in kilograms with their height in meters squared. If your result is a BMI of 30 or above then you are classified as obese. If you have a reading of 40 or above then you are considered as severely obese.

Who does obesity affect?

Obesity in adults in the UK is estimated to affect almost a quart of all adults - over 22 percent of men and 24 percent of women.

Obesity in adults occurs as a result of having an imbalance between your calorie intake and what you expend through your daily routine and exercise. Obesity is adults can also occur due to medical reasons but in most cases it is due to this naturally caused imbalance between what is taken in and what is expended.

There has been a huge amount of research in to obesity in adults because this is a condition that affects a great many people and is responsible for approximately 30,000 premature deaths in the UK. Estimates believe obesity in adults and children effect some 300 million people worldwide and that it is about to overtake smoking as one of the world’s top preventable killers.

Possible consequences of obesity in adults

Obesity is likely to increase a patient’s chances of contracting various diseases such as those outlined below and it can even result in death.

•    Diabetes – You are twice as likely to contract type 2 diabetes if you are obese.
•    Heart disease and strokes – Obesity increases blood pressure which can be a major contributor to obesity linked heart disease and strokes.
•    Osteoarthritis – Extra pressure on the joints and a lack of exercise make this a common symptom and obese people often have problems with knees, lower back and hips.
•    Cancer – Obesity raises the chances of various types of cancers for both men and women

Treating obesity in adults

Obesity in adults can be avoided before having bariatric surgery and this should be considered as a last resort. The initial and primary goal should be to achieve weight loss naturally by rebalancing your diet and exercising regularly.

Bariatric surgery may force your body to start shedding weight because you are unable to consume the same calorie levels but to keep your weight off, and importantly stay healthy, a patient should eat healthy and balanced portions and have a regular exercise routine.

Obesity in adults can lead to the patient being at risk of serious complications by undergoing surgery because of their excess weight so weight loss pre surgery may be essential. If a patient is unable to achieve this naturally there are some forms of incision free bariatric surgery which are used as a precursor to gastric bypass surgery.

For information on how bariatric surgery can help obesity in adults please complete one of our enquiry forms and you will be contacted by a qualified clinic.