Obesity

Obesity is excessive body weight. It is a more serious classification on the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale than overweight. Some consequences of obesity include Type 2 diabetes, strain on joints, and an increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Obesity has become more common in the United States and is increasing in many developed countries.

Obesity can be caused by overeating, which is sinful (gluttony). It can also be caused by improper hormone production or other malfunctions of various brain structures, including in particular the hypothalamus (site of the reward pathways, [this action=release of serotonin=feeling of pleasure]) and thyroid gland.

Obesity is most dangerous among the children and the elderly, whose bones, livers, and lungs are too weak to deal with the excess weight and fat. Obesity can significantly shorten a person's lifespan.

Some people consider obesity to be an illness. Whether it meets the definition of illness is an ongoing controversy in the medical world, however the medical world is nearly unanimously agreed that obesity is a big problem in the Western world. Liberals, however, deny this by saying hunger is a bigger problem among the poor.

See also

• American Medical Association
• Doctor
• Gluttony
• Naturopathy