Obesity

Obesity is a state characterized by excess Adipose Tissue (body fat).  The term Obesity is applied to persons who are more than 20% above their recommended body weight as measured by Body Mass Index.  Another means of determining Obesity is the Waist-to-Hip Ratio.

A healthy body fat percentage for women is 20% to 30% and for men a healthy body fat percentage is 8% to 20%. One pound of human body fat contains 3,500 calories.

 
Prevalence

 In the USA, approximately 35% of women and 31% of men older than 19 are obese or overweight.

 In the USA, approximately 20% - 25% of children are obese or overweight.

 Approximately 7% of the world’s total population is obese.

 At some stage, 78% of women and 40% of men (in Western nations) have attempted to lose weight through dieting.

Aging Process

 The risk of Obesity increases in tandem with the progression of the Aging Process.  ^[1] 

Diet

 A high-Glycemic Index diet may increase the risk of Obesity (by increasing Insulin levels, which in turn suppresses the “burning” of body fat for the production of Energy and redirects Glucose to be stored as body fat.  ^[2]

 Excessive consumption of fried foods (Frying) increases the risk of Obesity.  ^[3] 

Energy Ingested Exceeds Energy Requirement

 Binge Eating may cause Obesity.

 Excessive consumption of dietary Carbohydrates  ^[4]  may cause Obesity - Simple Sugars such as Fructose  ^[5], Glucose and Sucrose  ^[6] especially exacerbate Obesity (by substituting for dietary Fats and Adipose Tissue in the body''s production of Energy).  Dietary Carbohydrates that are not used in the production of Energy are eventually stored as body fat (Adipose Tissue):

 Excessive consumption of Soft Drinks may cause Obesity (due to the high content of Fructose in most Soft Drinks).  ^[7]

 Insufficient Exercise may lead to Obesity.

 Excessive consumption of Dietary Fats may increase the risk of Obesity (to a greater extent than an equivalent number of Calorie ingested from Proteins or Carbohydrates):

 The ingestion of Dietary Fats initiates a process that results in the deposition of Triglycerides (derived from the Fatty Acids in Dietary Fats) in Adipose Tissues - i.e. the body “prefers’ to store Dietary Fats in Adipose Tissue in preference to utilizing them for the endogenous production of Energy (this process is known as lipogenesis).  Dietary Fats can be readily incorporated into the Triglycerides of Adipose Tissue due to the Fatty Acids in dietary Fats being a principal component of Triglycerides.

 Unlike calories derived from other sources, calories derived from Dietary Fats require very little endogenous Energy to be expended in digesting and metabolizing them, therefore ingestion of Dietary Fats do not increase the body’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to the extent that calories derived from other sources do.

 Long-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids contribute to weight gain in people who are predisposed to Obesity (when people who are predisposed to Obesity consume Long-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids, these Fatty Acids are incorporated into Adipose Tissue rather than being metabolized for the production of Energy):   Excessive consumption of Palmitic Acid may increase the risk of Obesity (Palmitic Acid is a major important constituent of White Adipose Tissue).   Excessive consumption of Stearic Acid may increase the risk of Obesity.  ^[8]

 Trans-Fatty Acids may increase the size and quantity of Adipose Tissue (body Fat) and therefore increase the risk of Obesity.  ^[9]

 Excessive Triglycerides may be implicated in Obesity (due their storage as Adipose Tissue).

Environmental Toxins

 Excessive exposure to Bisphenol A may contribute to Obesity.  ^[10]

Enzymes

 Excessive activity of Delta-9 Desaturase may contribute to Obesity (by catalyzing the conversion of Palmitic Acid to Palmitoleic Acid (a Monounsaturated Fatty Acid that is stored in Adipose Tissue).  ^[11]

 Excessive activity of Fatty Acid Synthase may contribute to Obesity (it produces Palmitic Acid which is stored in Adipose Tissue).

 Excessive Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity contributes to or exacerbates Obesity (G6PD facilitates the storage of Fats in Adipose Tissue).  ^[12]

 Excessive activity of Lipoprotein Lipase in Adipocytes may contribute to Obesity (Lipoprotein Lipase catalyzes the breakdown of Triglycerides from Lipoprotein into their constituent Fatty Acids and Glycerol for uptake into Adipocytes).