By Gloria Omoruyi

The first time Toyin met Esther he would have sworn she was much older than him. All her body endowments were out of proportion. They had met through a dating site in the Internet, and Toyin, like every other young man built fantasies about her, probably “seeing” her as a very slim lady. She sounded so nice and soft over the phone. It did not take Toyin long to convince Esther to pay him a visit, which she readily accepted. However, the relationship did not last another weekend. Reason? Esther was too fat for Toyin. This problem is not peculiar to Esther alone. A lot of women are daily embarrassed because of their body size. While some women flaunt their over sized bodies around, there are those who feel self-conscious about their sizes. Nevertheless, it does not end with relationship or showing off the body size. How about the health implications?

You are obese when you weigh more than 20 percent of an average person of your height and build. But just who is an average person in this regard is relative to an observer’s view. Obesity results when the energy input is greater than the energy usage of the body. Contrary to public opinion, obesity does not necessarily result from overeating, though food consumption is the major cause. Obesity can be expressed as the accumulation of body tissues leading to a heavy weight and an oversized nature in proportion to height and size. It is also a state of being extremely fat to an unhealthy level.

Some years back, the issue of obesity was popular among the developed western world due to their unhealthy eating habit and near sedentary lifestyles. Ironically then, while the developing nations were dying of under nutrition, the developed countries were suffering from over nutrition. But today in Nigeria, obesity has become one of the major health problems especially among the women.
The life expectancy of obese people is often reduced by 6 to 7 years. It is estimated to cause an excess of 111,909 to 365,000 deaths per year in the United States. In Nigeria, the prevalence of the disease has continued to increase with more number of people affected with obesity related complications.

Dr. Joseph Idah, Department of Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja said the major cause of obesity is over consumption of foods rich in carbohydrates and fats. The extra fats, carbohydrates, alcohol or even protein consumed, are converted to body fat and stored under the skin as adipose tissues. Quantity of food eaten is not the only problem. Another promoter of obesity is the nature of the food we eat, especially junk. These foods include the quick fix meals we pick off the shelves, like canned foods, snacks, meats, sausages and other foods lacking the required nutrients. To prolong the shelf life of certain foods, sonic nutrients need to be stripped off. Our preferences for foods from the fast foods joints are not helpful in this regard. He said: “ask an average woman of her preference for tomato; she would likely say tinned tomato. However, fresh tomato contains lycopene, (a cancer-fighting compound) which is lacking in tinned (processed) tomato; we all would rather take a chilled bottle of orange don than peel a fresh one. We often forget so easily that processed foods have preservatives, which are not health promoting”.

Investigation showed that obesity can have genetic disposition. Thus most times, you can see the condition across different generations of a particular family. However, not all cases are like that. Since most women who are obese eat so much, they will most likely encourage their family members to eat as much, and the resultant effect is a breed of hefty and gigantic beings.

Hormonal imbalance due to physiological disorder can also lead to obesity. For example, the hypothalamus, which controls the activities of other hormones including insulin that breaks down the carbohydrates in the blood, can be reduced leading to more adverse conditions.

The problems associated with obesity are numerous. Among them are antheroscelorosis, which is the deposition of fatty tissues inside the arteries. This can result in heart attacks and strokes. Varicose veins especially around the middle life are another health situation associated with obesity. There is also pronounced skeletal deformity like flat feet, osteoarthritis, backaches and hernias thus making smooth movement difficult. Diabetes and cancer are not left out in the problems that can result from obesity.

Obesity in women leads to high estrogen levels, and this has been shown to promote breast cancer, fat deposits around the abdominal region can block the fallopian tubes and result in infertility. In children, obesity poses more health problems than in adult. It predisposes them to diabetics, cancer of the breast and inferiority complex.

To reduce obesity, Dr. ldah prescribed consumption of less energy foods like carbohydrates and fats. He said instead more vitamins and proteins should be eaten. “You also need to exercise more; that will help to burn off the stored fats. Maybe you have been avoiding water, due to fear of its retention in the body. Take more water, it is a very good thermogenic enhancer. It helps in burning fats”, he said.

Culled from SHEWORLD MAGAZINE

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