Fat tissue in men is deposited in the form of a “suitcase” – that is, the abdomen. Do you think the thickness of your wallet is a worthy counterweight to such a belly? Probably not … And you? What’s going on with your skirt too? You put it on higher and higher, thus deceptively covering your own belly. Indeed – at first glance it is difficult to judge where your belly starts and ends. Oh, ladies and gentlemen; give it a rest! It used to be believed that a man over 50 does not have to take care of himself anymore, while his wife, on the contrary, should serve him for dinner with greasy potatoes until he runs down his chin, while also trying them while cooking. These times are long gone – I advise you to put such thinking firmly among myths, on the highest shelf in our home library.
Obesity is a great social, health and epidemiological problem. In Australia and America, obese people make up about 50% of the population – starting from young children. Over the past 10 years obesity has increased steadily – both in Europe and the USA. In this respect, Poland is at the forefront of European countries. On the other hand, a slim and shapely figure is preferred, as convinced by the entire medical world – saying that “excess weight shortens life”.
The immediate cause of obesity is a long-lasting positive energy balance in people with a genetic predisposition. Overfeeding, a sedentary lifestyle, low physical activity – inevitably lead to an increase in body weight. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most commonly used indicator to assess the degree of obesity. It can be calculated by dividing body weight (expressed in kilograms) by height (expressed in meters) squared. That is – BMI = kg / m2. BMI in the range of 20 – 24.9 is the norm and indicates a healthy body weight. BMI in the range of 25 – 29.
about obesity.
Depending on the BMI value, there are 3 degrees of obesity:
- obesity Io – BMI in the range 30-34.9
- obesity IIo – BMI in the range 35-39.9
- obesity IIIo – BMI equal to or greater than 40
Due to the way adipose tissue is deposited – we can divide obese people into those “with the belly” (so-called visceral obesity, central obesity), in whom adipose tissue is located mainly in the abdominal cavity. Then the waist circumference increases, which gives the characteristic silhouette, resembling an apple. The “apple” abdominal type of obesity is characteristic of men and some women. The hips and thighs are typical places for fat deposits in women. This results in “pear-shaped” hip-femoral obesity, which is called peripheral in contrast to visceral (central). There are also indicators that distinguish between abdominal and peripheral obesity. The simplest indicator is waist circumference measurement. The measure of abdominal obesity is a waist circumference in men greater than 102 cm, and in women – greater than 88 cm. WUR is the ratio of the waist circumference to the hip circumference. People with a WUR index greater than 1- in men and 0.85- in women have the so-called abdominal type of obesity. If this index is lower than the norms listed here – then we are dealing with pear-shaped (or hip-femoral) obesity. Every person with a tummy – both men and women – is a contender for many diseases!
There are many correlations between the abdominal type of obesity – and arterial hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and gout. Hypertension increases the risk of coronary heart disease and left ventricular hypertrophy. Ultimately, this leads to the development of heart failure, arrhythmias or sudden cardiac death.
So is it worth “growing a tummy”, sir? If you have decided that NO – start the fight against kilograms today by applying a low-calorie diet, increasing your physical activity, changing your lifestyle … You can always count on the help of an experienced expert in this field, i.e. a bariatrician (bariatrics – comes from the Greek the word “baros”, meaning “burden” and it is a medical specialty dealing with the treatment of obesity along with complications and diseases that coexist with it
