hypothyroidism)
Insufficient or poor-quality sleep
Limited physical exercise and a sedentary lifestyle
Poor nutrition
Metabolic disorders, which could be caused by repeated attempts to lose weight by weight cycling
Overeating
Psychotropic medication (e.g. olanzapine)
Smoking cessation and other stimulant withdrawal
StressPeople who have insulin dependent diabetes and chronically overdose insulin may gain weight, while people who already are overweight may develop insulin tolerance, and in the long run develop type II diabetes. Treatment
The usual treatments for overweight individuals is diet and physical exercise. Dietitians generally recommend eating several balanced meals dispersed through the day, with a combination of progressive, primarily aerobic, physical exercise. In fact, some research found benefits from physical activity, diet and behaviour changes on BMI in children from 12 to 17 years old.Considering that most of the treatment strategies are directed to change lifestyle-related behaviours of individuals (namely in dietary and physical activity), the transtheoretical model (TTM) has been used as a framework to design weight management interventions. A systematic review assessed the effectiveness of dietary and physical activity interventions based on the TTM in producing sustainable (one year or longer) weight loss in overweight and obese adults. The included studies did not allow to produce conclusive evidence about the impact of the use of this model combined with these interventions on sustainable weight loss. Nevertheless, very low quality scientific evidence suggests that this approach may lead to improvements in physical activity and dietary habits, namely increased in both exercise duration and frequency, and fruits and vegetables consumption, along with reduced dietary fat intake.
Being overweight or fat is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is especially common where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. As of 2003, excess weight reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults being either overweight or obese. In 2013, this increased to more than 2 billion. Increases have been observed across all age groups. A healthy body requires a minimum amount of fat for proper functioning of the hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems, as thermal insulation, as shock absorption for sensitive areas, and as energy for future use; however, the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement, flexibility, and alter the appearance of the body. Classification
The degree to which a person is overweight is generally described by the body mass index (BMI). Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 or more, thus it includes pre-obesity defined as a BMI between 25 and 29.9 and obesity as defined by a BMI of 30 or more. Pre-obese and overweight however are often used interchangeably, thus giving overweight a common definition of a BMI of between 25 and 29.9. There are, however, several other common ways to measure the amount of adiposity or fat present in an individuals body. Body mass indexThe body mass index (BMI) is a measure of a persons weight taking into account their height. It is given by the following formula: BMI equals a persons weight (mass) in kilograms divided by the square of the persons height in metres.