Beginner's Guide: Definition of Obesity and Common Wrong Weight Loss Methods

**Beginner's Guide**

Is obesity a disease?

Yes, obesity is a disease!

Some people are obese from childhood, which is related to inheritance and abnormal family eating habits. However, obesity does indeed easily lead to complications. So what exactly constitutes obesity? Its relationship with age, height, and weight is usually determined by the statistics and methods used by each country. In the late 20th century, the recommended weights in the Republic of China were:

**Male height (in centimeters) minus 80 multiplied by 0.7**

**For women, subtract 70 from their height (in centimeters) and multiply by 0.6.**

A weight gain exceeding 10% indicates overweight, a warning sign that needs attention; a weight gain exceeding 20% ​​indicates obesity.

Currently, people are gradually accepting that East Asians with a body mass index (BMI) exceeding 23 kg/m² are obese. Therefore, the quotient obtained by dividing height (meters squared) by weight (kilograms) is the body mass index.

The most common way to lose weight

What should you pay attention to when you are obese? It's wrong to try to lose weight by not eating certain foods. Most people don't have a good understanding of nutrition. How can you ensure that the food you eat is good for your health? In 250 cases at a weight loss clinic, two-thirds had tried weight loss methods outside of hospitals, with over 98% relying on meat and protein. This method is incorrect; it causes ketoacids, leading to the loss of the body's own protein and electrolytes, resulting in low blood pressure and many complications such as kidney failure and confusion. However, the method of not eating rice and only eating meat is very popular, which, from a metabolic and biochemical perspective, is anti-healthy.

From a public health perspective, societal attitudes urgently need improvement, otherwise it will affect the entire population. The changes in weight and dietary patterns in Americans before and after the 1970s were largely due to the advocacy of a group of insightful individuals. Previously, because no one addressed these issues, misconceptions persisted, leading to the misleading notion that eating meat is a way to lose weight.

When there is insufficient energy, the body will naturally burn its own fat to replenish it. If you mainly eat meat, the lack of fat will prevent the body from retaining protein. As a result, the body will burn muscle to replenish the energy, which will lead to weakness. Therefore, if you try to lose weight by eating meat, you will become very weak and your mental state will deteriorate. This is caused by a misconception.

Comparison of various weight loss methods:

Moxibustion: Refers to the acupoints on the abdomen. Characteristics: Reduces food intake, often accompanied by a meat-based diet. Negative effects: Not sustainable; after use, the patient may not understand food selection techniques, and the weight loss method may still lead to weight gain.

Eating fatty meat: can cause acidosis! It also reduces the natural intake of calories and leads to weight loss. Other adverse effects: can cause constipation, dehydration, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood uric acid, and even fainting.

Two-stage warming, original liquid disintegration, low-frequency electronic steam bath. Features: Dehydration; the body temporarily loses some water, but has a restorative effect. Disadvantages: Weight regains easily after drinking water.

Weight loss tea or slimming candy. Characteristics: Reduced appetite and food intake. Adverse effects: Has it been adulterated? It may cause poor bowel movements, weakness, inability to maintain a healthy weight, and weight regain when discontinued.

Weight Loss Drug (Amphetamine). Features: Suppresses the hypothalamus [during eating], leading to poor appetite and natural weight loss. Adverse Effects: Long-term or large-scale use may cause irritability, insomnia, constipation, hallucinations, and other symptoms (side effects include: talkativeness, tension, insomnia, emotional agitation, irritability; some patients may exhibit self-destructive or violent tendencies, causing severe personality changes and the development of psychosis; once drug dependence develops, depressive symptoms may appear upon discontinuation).

Acidic vegetables: Occasionally cause abdominal pain, leading to fluid loss and decreased appetite. Adverse effects: After discontinuing use, body temperature will return to normal; however, excessive use may cause jaundice, electrolyte loss, and gastrointestinal diseases.

High-protein nitrogen diet (meat-eating version, no meat). Features: Increased metabolic rate can lead to weight loss. Disadvantages: May cause heart disease, high blood pressure, and other discomforts. Increased metabolic burden may affect kidney function; long-term consumption may cause osteoporosis, cramps, etc.

Slimming waist trainer, slimming camphor. Features: Physically compresses fat without effort. Negative effects: Where does the fat go? Long-term effects may be slight.

Obesity begins in adolescence

The human body contains approximately 25 to 30 billion fat cells. When food intake increases and energy expenditure decreases, the nutrients absorbed from the digestive tract are synthesized into triglycerides in the liver and transported to fat cells via lipoproteins. When the fat cell reserves are full and cannot be increased further, these cells will divide to create more fat cells.

Fat cells are where the body stores energy. If their number increases, it manifests as an increased waistline, a rounder body, thicker subcutaneous tissue, and even a double chin. While obesity in infancy (below the first digit) doesn't necessarily lead to childhood obesity, long-term follow-up studies of obese children and adolescents show a significantly higher chance of them becoming obese adults.