Healthy Weight, Part I

I am Dr. Mollie Cecil with UHC Medical Weight Management, and I am here today to provide you with ideas and tips concerning your healthy weight.

1). What is obesity, and how does it happen? If you don’t mind, why is it so rampant in the Mountain State?

Obesity is a chronic disease. It happens when excess energy makes the body create extra fat tissue. This excess energy comes from having a mismatch between food intake, physical activity, and your body’s metabolism. This fat tissue releases many chemicals that affect your body’s functions, including your body’s perception of hunger and cravings. These chemicals are heightened in individuals with obesity.

In West Virginia, the statistics are even more sobering as the DHHR provides that the prevalence of obesity in West Virginia has reached 37.7%, which ranks the state highest in the nation.

2). Often times obese people may be categorized as having no willpower or they’re lazy. Help us to understand why obesity happens?

Obesity is not the result of a person having poor willpower, laziness, or any character flaw. A person’s chances of developing obesity are influenced by their environment, their genetics, their health issues (including their mental health), and the culture where they live. There is even growing evidence that the initial factors that can cause obesity are first encountered when a person is still in their mother’s womb!

3). There is some math involved when it comes to calculating whether a person is obese or not. How important is this number and can you explain for us how it’s calculated?

We define obesity by calculating body mass index (BMI), measuring waist circumference, or analyzing body composition:

• BMI is the measurement most people know. It is a ratio of height and weight.
• Waist circumference measurements are most helpful in making treatment decisions in people who have a BMI of 27-35.
• Body composition is measured using special medical tools. They measure the amount of fat tissue compared to muscle tissue and water weight.

This content was originally posted on the WDTV News website here.

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