What is obesity?

What Does obesity Mean

Obesity (from Latin obesitas ) is the quality of being obese . This term refers to excess body weight .

Obesity is considered a disease , since excess weight leads to great health problems. An obese person is at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disorders, among other physical complications.
This disease, which is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the body , can have multiple causes, be they genetic, environmental or psychological. This means that obesity is not only associated with eating large amounts of food.
For the World Health Organization (WHO) , obesity occurs when the adult body mass index exceeds 30 kg / m2 . It can affect both men and women of any race, nationality or social stratum.

It is important to bear in mind that in ancient times it was believed that being overweight was synonymous with good nutrition and, therefore, healthy living conditions . Today it is known that it is a factor that affects the development of multiple diseases, both physical and mental.
In many countries, obesity is a public health problem that has already become an epidemic , given the large number of cases reported by health institutions. One of the reasons lies in the current pace of life, which leads people to become sedentary and eat unhealthy.
Those who suffer from obesity, on the other hand, are often discriminated against and receive ridicule and derogatory nicknames. The disease, in this way, also constitutes a social stigma .
The impact of obesity on social life
In principle, it is important to make a distinction between those who suffer from obesity and manage to overcome it, and those who must suffer it until the end of their lives . When this disease occurs during childhood, the protagonists of this nightmare do not care about the repercussions on their circulatory system and on their joints, since they have enough with the ridicule and contempt they receive from their peers .
Obese boys are branded effeminate, while girls are masculine. Both genders are subjected to countless malicious jokes and nicknames, which society itself periodically renews for its comfortable use by the ruthless aggressors . Does anyone really believe that an obese person enjoys being called "fat"? Where is the consideration for others when making a mocking comment towards someone who suffers from a disease?

It is known that generalizations should not be taken as a reference when conducting a study of any kind, but not without reason is there a supposed relationship between lack of self-confidence and obesity or any other disorder that affects physical appearance of a person.
Returning to the distinction made in the first paragraph, obesity seems to be a lifelong stigma that haunts those who suffer from it , including those who manage to overcome it . Within this group, sports or gymnastic activities are very frequent , as well as responsible eating, seeking by all means not to return to the fatal stage of being overweight.
It may take only a little attention to find out who has been overweight as a child and who has not; constant preoccupation with physical appearance, questions like "does this make me look fat?" and excessive criticism of the appearance of others are clear indications of a past related to obesity, vestiges of a condition that can only be known by those who have experienced it in the first person.