Obesity is a serious problem that increases the risk of developing various health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases like stroke, coronary artery disease, etc. Many people rush to dietitians and gyms in order to make their life better by getting rid of obesity. Also, they have to go to doctors because they have no choice. Obesity slowly leads to various other diseases that can be fatal for life. Generally, if you are overweight or obese, many people come and advice you to cut on calories, eat in a limited amount and exercise a lot. You might even change your diet and start consuming a balanced diet, but this does not always work. So, what is the reason behind this?
Basically, we still don’t have proper understanding of obesity. We believe that weight gain or weight loss are just about our calorie consumption. Consuming too much calories causes weight gain, while burning calories helps in losing weight. But, is obesity only about calories? Well, if it was just about calories, people wouldn’t be rushing to medical clinics for the treatment. Obesity is about various complex changes in the body that together with calorie intake causes excessive weight gain body. But, is there an effective way to get rid of obesity? Yes, Dr. Mehmet Oz says there are ways to manage obesity. But, before moving towards the treatment, let us first understand what obesity is, as explained by Dr. Oz.
Obesity and Genetics
Initially, when people started to co-relate obesity with genetics, it was believed that it is caused because of eating and exercise habits passed on to the offspring from their parents. But, the modern research has completely rejected the beliefs, linking obesity with genetics and determining the involvement of various genes that can be responsible for deciding the weight of a person.
Also, a study that involved the study of genes of more than 300,000 people discovered that there were more than 60 genes that are associated with the BMI of a person, and about 30 genes associated with the position where the weight concentrated. Researchers found that people with pear shaped body had certain version of genes activated in their body, while apple shaped body had activated genes of another version. Thus, genes can also help in determining whether a person is at risk of getting obese during their lifetime.
Role of Gut Bacteria
There are trillions of bacteria that live on and inside our body. Researchers have been studying these bacteria from years in order to find out whether they are beneficial or bad for our health. However, the actual function of gut bacteria is still unknown to us, but the one thing that we are sure about is that they affect our body beyond our understanding. Some studies have linked gut bacteria with obesity, asthma, and various mental health conditions. While, some studies have claimed that the effect of bacteria depends on its type.
When we talk about gut bacteria, we understand that while opting for food, it isn’t just the calories that we need to focus on, but also the quality of food. As the right foods can help in maintaining healthy gut bacteria, there are some foods that can cause the growth of bad bacteria in gut, causing various problems like obesity.
Hormones and Obesity
Hormones play an important role in determining the weight of a person. This is why we observe that people after losing a several pounds in months gain the weight back after a few days. This is because of a certain hormonal pattern of their body. But, when does this hormonal pattern starts affecting the body weight? Some researches says that this starts affecting the body weight soon after the birth. So, how can treat the weight gain caused by hormonal changes in body? Well, there are surgical methods to balance the hormone levels in body, but it is better to not go for surgical treatments for the treatment of obesity.
So, you must be thinking if you can’t go for surgery for the treatment of obesity, then what can you do to get rid of the extra pounds on your body? Here are some advices by Dr. Oz that can help you in getting rid of obesity without invading your body with surgical tools. These are:
- Eat clean, not less: Most people stop eating in order to lose some pounds from their body. Well, they do succeed but this isn’t for a long time. If you are seeking long term health, instead of focusing on eating less, cut off the harmful fats and sugars out of your diet. Give up on junk food and start eating veggies and all the healthy foods. This can be your first step towards a healthy body.
- Don’t give up on exercise: There are times when people start working out in order to lose weight but stop in middle when they don’t see results. This is where they go wrong. If you want to get rid of obesity and workout isn’t effective enough, don’t give up on it. Instead think of the positive side of it like how the exercise is helping you in controlling the blood pressure and balancing the levels of cholesterol in body.
- Keep on trying different approaches: As explained by Dr. Oz, there are various factors that affect weight gain in people. This include genetics, hormones, as well as gut bacteria. So, when there are so many factors causing obesity, then how can we find the right treatment in just one attempt. Thus, it is necessary to not give up on the idea of getting fit and keep trying different techniques to get rid of the excess weight on body.
- Take a comprehensive look at life: Besides the calorie intake and all the other factors mentioned above, weight gain is still a complicated issue. Factors like stress and sleeping cycle also affects the weight changes in body. Thus, not only focusing on the common approaches, it is necessary to establish a complete balance of life and focus on overall health to get a healthy body.
