Obesity why be concerned

Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, how people respond to an environment that promotes physical inactivity and intake of high-calorie foods suggests that genes do play a role in developing obesity. Genes give the body instructions for responding to changes in its environment. Variants in several genes may contribute to obesity by increasing hunger and food intake.

Rarely, a clear pattern of inherited obesity within a family is caused by a specific variant of a single gene monogenic obesity.

Most obesity, however, probably results from complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors that remain poorly understood multifactorial obesity.

Health care practitioners routinely collect family health history to help identify people at high risk of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some forms of cancer. Family health history reflects the effects of shared genetics and environment among close relatives. Families cannot change their genes, but they can encourage healthy eating habits and physical activity.

Those changes can improve the health of family members—and improve the health history of the next generation. Learn more about obesity and genomics. Some illnesses may lead to obesity or weight gain.

Drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause weight gain. Research continues on the role of other factors in energy balance and weight gain such as chemical exposures and the role of the microbiome.

People who have obesity, compared to those with a healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following: 5,6,7. Obesity and its associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the US health care system, 11 including direct and indirect costs.

Indirect costs relate to sickness and death and include lost productivity. Productivity measures include employees being absent from work for obesity-related health reasons, decreased productivity while at work, and premature death and disability.

In addition, obesity has implications for armed forces recruitment. Available online pdf icon [PDF Defining the genetic architecture of the predisposition to obesity: a challenging but not insurmountable task external icon.

Am J Clin Nutr ; Genetics of obesity: what have we learned? Epub Aug Department of Health and Human Services. Current estimates of the economic cost of obesity in the United States. Obesity Research. What is the economic case for treating obesity? The economic impact of obesity in the United States. Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer-and service-specific estimates.

Health Aff Millwood. Indirect costs of obesity: a review of the current literature. Obes Rev. Sci Rep , 11 1 , 18 Mar PLoS One , 15 6 :e, 16 Jun Sci Rep , 10 1 , 24 Mar Biomed Res Int , , 08 Jan To arrive at the top five similar articles we use a word-weighted algorithm to compare words from the Title and Abstract of each citation.

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Search life-sciences literature Over 39 million articles, preprints and more Search Quick link: Coronavirus articles and preprints. Recent history Saved searches. Abstract Available from publisher site using DOI. A subscription may be required. Brown WV ,. Ken Fujioka Search articles by 'Ken Fujioka'.

Fujioka K ,. Wilson PW ,. Woodworth KA. Affiliations All authors 1. Brown med. Share this article Share with email Share with twitter Share with linkedin Share with facebook. Abstract The obesity epidemic in the United States represents a critical public health issue that has the potential to incur major healthcare costs because of the substantial risks associated with excess body fat.

Whereas many recognize the significant risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus associated with excess body fat, a myriad of other health problems can accompany overweight and obesity, potentially leading to early morbidity and mortality. Public recognition of obesity as an important health crisis, and not simply a matter of cosmetics or lifestyle choice, is clearly needed.

A greater awareness of the health risks associated with excess weight will facilitate more frequent obesity screenings and discussions about healthy weight management that have the potential to result in a greater commitment of healthcare resources to effective obesity prevention and management strategies. Full text links Read article at publisher's site DOI : Smart citations by scite. The number of the statements may be higher than the number of citations provided by EuropePMC if one paper cites another multiple times or lower if scite has not yet processed some of the citing articles.