The Danger of Obesity

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is defined as a condition of excessive fat accumulation in the body that can lead to various individual health problems. Obesity has been categorized as a worldwide disease. Obesity can occur due to an imbalance in energy intake where calories in far exceed calories out.

A person with prolonged obesity has twice the risk of developing diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure (hypertension), coronary heart disease, and stroke. Obesity also has a high risk of causing colon and prostate cancer in men, as well as breast and cervical cancer in women. How horrible is that? Obesity can also interfere with the mentality of the sufferer, where the sufferer experiences decreased self-confidence, laziness to move, etc.

The principle in preventing or overcoming obesity is to do calorie restriction, where the incoming calories must be below the calories out. Calorie restriction can be achieved by limiting food intake. This can be helped by consulting a specialist in clinical nutrition or a nutritionist. Meanwhile, calories-out can be increased with exercise.

In cases of obesity, people who want to do exercise should do a medical check-up first, especially to detect whether there is a problem with the heart. After being declared safe and fit to do sports, obese people are advised to do aerobic exercise or weight training. Aerobic exercise is a physical exercise that relies on the aerobic (oxygen-dependent) energy generation process and is focused on improving heart-lung fitness. Low-impact aerobic exercise, such as swimming, cycling, or walking, are recommended to reduce a strain on the knee joint. Avoid running or jumping until you reach a lower body weight. The frequency of exercise is 4-5x /week, with moderate intensity and a duration of 30–60 minutes.

Weight training, especially on large muscles (legs, buttocks, arms, chest, back, and shoulders), is also highly recommended in obese patients, where weight training will help use energy due to greater skeletal muscle contraction. By doing weight training, it replaces fat with muscle, improving body shape and confidence. The frequency of weight training could be done 2-3x/week with moderate intensity and a minimum volume of 2 sets x 10 repetitions of each movement.

By Seraphim Medical Team