Obesity represents one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century, the prevalence of this condition tripling even in certain areas of the European Union. The accumulation of excess kilograms increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic imbalances such as diabetes and oncological diseases, currently obesity is responsible for 2-8% of the total costs allocated to health.
Obese environment
The obesogenic environment is the main factor involved in the excessive accumulation of fat that associates a high risk for health and is defined as the totality of factors that negatively influence the daily lifestyle, such as:
- Hypercaloric food, rich in fat and with a high sugar content
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- The stress
- Insufficient sleep
- Inactivity
- Facilities that reduce physical activity - daily use of personal cars, escalators, elevators and similar.
Cheap, over-processed junk food, rich in carbohydrates, drinks with high sugar intake and sedentary lifestyle are the main components of the obese environment.
Also, the pandemic context favored the increase in the number of obese people by favoring sedentarism, compulsive eating ( Binge Eating Disorder - BED ), a serious eating disorder characterized by the consumption of large amounts of food in a relatively short period of time.
The risks frequently associated with compulsive eating are represented by significant weight gain and fluctuations in body weight, known as the yo-yo effect, almost 2/3 of patients with this eating disorder suffering from obesity.
On the other hand, the lifestyle of today's society takes place in certain situations at a fast pace that involves limiting the time allocated to preparing healthy food and carrying out regular physical activities that allow maintaining an adequate body weight. Food intake "on the run" or eating in front of the computer while carrying out various professional tasks, involves the involuntary consumption of increased amounts of food that favor weight gain.
Sedentarism is favored on the one hand by office work, and on the other hand, by overwork, mental and intellectual fatigue that decrease the availability for physical activities after the end of the work schedule.
Body mass index
The body mass index is the official indicator for determining the ideal body weight in relation to height, being useful for determining the degree of obesity. BMI can also be used to determine the number of kilograms that a person must lose or gain in order to reach a normal weight.
Depending on the values obtained, BMI is reported as follows:
- 18.49 or less – Underweight
- Between 18.50 and 24.99 - Normal weight
- Between 25.00 and 29.99 – Overweight
- Between 30.00 and 34.99 - Obesity (degree I)
- Between 35.00 and 39.99 - Obesity (degree II)
- 40.00 or more - Morbid obesity.
Obesity increases the risk of heart failure, high blood pressure, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, pathologies of the joint system, metabolic imbalances such as diabetes and certain oncological diseases, including liver cancer, gastric, pancreatic, intestinal cancer, but and ovarian and breast in menopausal women. The National Agency for Cancer Research states that the association between obesity and oncological pathologies is explained by the metabolic and endocrine imbalances that occur in obese people, along with the chronic pro-inflammatory status of this category of patients.
Causes yo-yo effect
In most cases, the yo-yo effect is caused by the resumption of old eating habits and the cessation of the physical exercise program after a period of restrictive, hypocaloric diet .
Starvation diets increase the levels of ghrelin and leptin, hormones with a role in regulating the feeling of hunger that increase the rate of fat deposition, and are more prone to failure, due to the yo-yo effect that occurs after the cessation of drastic dietary restrictions.
Another way to explain the yo-yo effect is represented by the sudden loss of adipose tissue during restrictive diets. This sudden loss causes a response from the body that reduces to a certain extent the muscle mass and slows down the metabolism in its attempt to protect fat deposits.
Yo-yo effect risks
- The yo-yo effect can have important repercussions both physically and psychologically. Fluctuations in body weight in people trying to lose weight can cause a feeling of failure or devaluation , depression and sleep disorders.
- The physical stress associated with the yo-yo effect is explained by the increase in cortisol synthesis, which induces the body in a "survival mode" . In other words, after the cessation of restrictive diets, the feeling of hunger generated by the increase in leptin, ghrelin and cortisol determines the increased food intake and the regaining of the kilos lost during the regime.
- Additionally, the metabolic changes that make up this yo-yo effect favor faster recovery of fat mass compared to muscle mass, this pathological mechanism being responsible for an important increase in body fat percentage.
- Similar to obesity, the yo-yo effect predisposes to the appearance of cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes as a result of the increase in cortisol synthesis, sudden fluctuations in body weight can favor in certain situations the appearance of metabolic syndrome with multiorgan damage.
Sustainable weight loss with prevention of the yo-yo effect
The yo-yo effect is associated especially with drastic, hypocaloric diets whose purpose is to lose excess weight in a relatively short time. The effective reduction of body weight and the prevention of the yo-yo effect can be achieved by applying changes in lifestyle and thinking that involve:
- Setting realistic goals regarding body weight - lifestyle changes must be adopted gradually and constantly maintained for an adequate and lasting loss of excess pounds and preservation of muscle mass.
- Maintaining a balanced diet that ensures the intake of vitamins and minerals necessary for a good functioning of the body excluding over-processed foods, sugar and fats.
- Adopting an active lifestyle that includes performing daily physical exercises according to one's abilities.
- Observance of sleeping hours.
- Consulting a nutrition specialist to customize the diet according to the needs and own lifestyle - under the careful guidance of the therapist or nutritionist, the patient learns to manage emotional aspects and implement healthy eating habits to obtain an adequate body weight and maintain it over time long, reducing the risk of the yo-yo effect.
Losing weight can in certain situations be an extremely difficult process because it involves overcoming certain mental and emotional barriers and combating a series of automatisms of everyday life, but with patience, perseverance and specialized help, these shortcomings can be successfully overcome even in the context current social, less favorable.
