Obesity and Chronic Diseases

Introduction

By now, humanity must generously agree that obesity has become one of the leading

global concerns of the 21st century (Kassotis, 727). For the past twenty years, the number of

obese people across the global population has drastically increased. Scientific projections

speculate that in the next decade, more than half of American kids will be obese. Obesity is

described as a medical condition in which a person has extra weight due to excess fat clogging in

the body. According to scientific research, an obese person is more likely to develop other

diseases than a person with an average Body Mass Index. These medical complications include

and are not limited to Cushing syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, polycystic

syndrome, and even arthritis.

Causes of obesity

The quest to discover the causal agents and predisposing factors of obesity has gained

momentum in the science world. First, what people eat is an essential factor to consider when

evaluating the development of obesity (Kassotis, 730). When the intake of calories is greater than

the energy demand, the body is more likely to store the excess calories in fat. Further, research

indicates that excessive consumption of foods with sugar and fats can lead to obesity. Secondly,

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the type of lifestyle that a person leads is crucial in determining their health status. A person who

is still and barely participates in physical exercises stand a higher chance of becoming obese.

Physical activities help burn calories and keep the sugar levels at control and, therefore, manage

weight. Finally, insufficient sleep is a significant cause of obesity among young people in the

world. According to samples evaluation done on more than 120,000 children from Europe

between 2009 and 2012, sleep deprivation is a significant cause of obesity among the young

generation.

Obesity and Cancer

The United States National Institute of Cancer has made important discoveries on the

connection between the accumulation of excess fats and cancer development. According to the

American Cancer Society, at least a quarter of all cancer deaths in the United States are directly

connected to excess weight in the body. In the United Kingdom, a lot of deaths cancer deaths are

caused by obesity. Obesity alters the normal physiological functions of various body parts. It also

creates an alternation of the molecular structure of different tissues, which facilitates the

development of cancer.

According to the Cancer Research of the United Kingdom, excess fat accumulated on the

body tissues triggers electric pulses formation. In turn, electric pulses distribute to the body cells

that, in turn, stimulate hormones and growth proteins. The massive production of hormones and

growth cells increases the chances of replicating cancerous cells. Cancerous cells can multiply to

levels of forming a malignant or benign tumor (Kanazawa, 9).