What is obesity?
Obesity is a heavy accumulation of fat in the body's fat
cells to such a serious degree that it rapidly increases the
risk of obesity-associated diseases and mortality.
The fat may be equally distributed on the body, on the stomach
(apple-s haped)
or on the hips and thighs (pear-shaped).
What are the serious obesity-related diseases?
Most importantly, being overweight and obese may cause several
psychological problems like a feeling of inferiority, often
caused by discrimination. Besides, many physical problems
are related to obesity, like difficulties in breathing, personal
hygiene, pain in the knees and back and skin problems.
People suffering from obesity more frequently have high blood
pressure and diseases related to hardening of the arteries,
with blood clots in the heart and the brain. Other related
problems include non-insulin dependent diabetes, gallstones,
some types of cancer, difficulties in mobility and increased
risk of mortality.
What causes obesity?
Obesity can be hereditary, therefore some people are at increased
risk. However, obesity only develops from overeating, irregular
meals and lack of daily physical activity.
Many people think that when a disease is hereditary, it is
unavoidable that you will suffer from the condition but this
is not true. It is lifestyle which determines how the genes
develop.
Besides genes, food and physical activity, it is possible
that other so far unknown elements may play a part.
When is medical treatment necessary?
The main problem is to limit the treatment to persons who
actually need it such as:
· those with a BMI of more than 30kg/m2 who have
not reduced weight by diet changes, exercise or lifestyle
changes.
· those with BMI of more than 28kg/m2 and the presence
of risk elements or complications.
· those with BMI of more than 28kg/m2 who have
experienced a previous rapid increase of weight.
Hoodia - Wikipedia
Hoodia is a genus of 13 species in the flowering plant family Apocynaceae, under the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. They are stem succulents, described as "cactiform" because of their remarkable similarity to the unrelated cactus family. They can reach up to 1m high and have large flowers, often with flesh colour and strong smell.
Many Hoodia species are protected plants, typical of the Namib Desert, ranging from Central Namibia to southern Angola, especially in plains and rocky areas. Common names include "Bushman's Hat" and "Queen of the Namib".
Several species are grown as garden plants, and one species, Hoodia gordonii, is being investigated for use as an appetite suppressant.[citation needed] "In the last few years, hoodia has been heavily marketed for weight loss and has become immensely popular."
On January 18, 2008, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (representing botanic gardens in 120 countries) stated that "400 medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, from over-collection and deforestation, threatening the discovery of future cures for disease." These included Yew trees (the bark was used for cancer drugs, paclitaxel, although current licensed syntheses do not); Hoodia (from Namibia, source of weight loss drugs); half of Magnolias (used as Chinese medicine for 5,000 years to fight cancer, dementia and heart disease); and Autumn crocus (for gout). The group was said to have found that five billion people rely upon traditional plant-based medicine for health care.
Doubts over obesity pill claims
Some of the health benefits claimed for a new weight loss drug may not be justified, say experts. Rimonabant, launched in the UK last summer, has been shown to aid weight loss by reducing appetite. But a Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin paper suggests claims that it also has an additional positive impact on the body's chemistry have not been proved. However, the manufacturers said the findings had proved consistent across all trials. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) is currently appraising the drug for use on the NHS. Manufacturers Sanofi-Aventis claim it has been shown to cut levels of potentially harmful cholesterol, fats and sugars in the blood to a greater extent than would be expected by weight loss alone. In theory, this should help to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. But the DTB paper argued that research had failed to prove that any positive impact on body chemistry was solely down to taking the drug. It was possible, for instance, that it was down to advice given to patients taking the drug to lead a more healthy lifestyle, and take more exercise. The paper also highlighted the fact that in trials rimonabant had no effect on levels of "bad" cholesterol, and little or no effect on blood pressure. It said the drug had not been effectively compared with other, cheaper weight loss drugs, such as Xenical (orlistat) and Reductil (sibutramine), which are both approved for NHS use. (C)BBC
http://www.biopsychology.com/news/
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