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Like many other medical conditions, obesity is the result of an interplay between environmental and genetic factors. [2] [3] Studies have identified variants in several genes that may contribute to weight gain and body fat distribution, although only in a few cases are genes the primary cause of obesity.
On average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than normal weight or thin people and actually have higher basal metabolic rates. [45] [46] This is because it takes more energy to maintain an increased body mass. [47] Obese people also underreport how much food they consume compared to those of normal weight. [48]
Being overweight or having obesity may increase the risk of several diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, and may lead to short- and long-term health problems during pregnancy. [2] Rates of obesity worldwide tripled from 1975 to 2016 to involve some 1.8 billion people and 39% of the world adult population. [3]
Being overweight has been shown not to increase mortality [qualify evidence] in older people: in a study of 70 to 75-year old Australians, mortality was lowest for "overweight" individuals (BMI 25 to 29.9), [18] while a study of Koreans found that, among those initially aged 65 or more, an increase in BMI to above 25 was not associated with ...
Share of adults that are obese, 1975 to 2016. Obesity is common in the United States and is a major health issue associated with numerous diseases, specifically an increased risk of certain types of cancer, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease, as well as significant increases in early mortality and economic costs. [1]
People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's weight divided by the square of the person's height—is over 30 kg/m 2; the range 25–30 kg/m 2 is defined as overweight. [1] Some East Asian countries use lower values to calculate obesity. [11]
Obesity has been observed throughout human history. Many early depictions of the human form in art and sculpture appear obese. [2] However, it was not until the 20th century that obesity became common — so much so that, in 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic [3] and estimated that the worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled ...
Overweight and obese people, including children, may find it difficult to lose weight on their own. [9] It is common for dieters to have tried fad diets only to find that they gain weight, or return to their original weight, after ceasing the diet. [10] Some improvement in patient psychological health is noted after bariatric surgery.