What is obesity?

What is obesity?

Obesity is one of the most important health problems in developed and developing countries today. Obesity is generally defined as an excessive increase in the ratio of body fat mass to lean mass, resulting in an increase in body weight above the desired level according to height.

As it is known, nutrition is an indispensable need of life that starts in the womb and continues until the end of life.

It is the ability to take and use in the body sufficient and balanced amounts of the nutrients necessary for human growth, development, healthy and productive longevity.

It is not about filling the stomach, suppressing hunger, eating or drinking what one craves.

In daily life, individuals (pregnant, lactating, infant, school child, young, old, worker, athlete, cardiovascular, diabetes, high blood pressure disease, respiratory disorders, etc.) need daily energy that varies according to age, gender, work, genetic and physiological characteristics and disease status.

In order to maintain a healthy life, energy intake and energy expenditure should be kept in balance.

Adipose tissue accounts for 15-18% of body weight in adult men and 20-25% in women. When this ratio exceeds 25% in men and 30% in women, it constitutes obesity.

If the daily energy intake is more than the energy expended, the unspent energy is stored as fat in the body and causes obesity.

In parallel with this, developments in today's technology, while making life easier, have significantly limited daily movements.

As it can be understood, obesity is considered as a disease that occurs as a result of the energy (calories) taken in food being more than the energy expended and the excess energy being stored as fat in the body (20% or more), which adversely affects the quality and duration of life.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as excessive accumulation of fat in the body to the extent that it impairs health.