What is Obesity?

Obesity can be simply defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Body mass index
(BMI) is a simple index for weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. An individual with a BMI equal or greater than 25 is overweight and a BMI equal or greater than 30, is considered obese. However, these values may differ in Asian countries as Asians have a higher fat body percentage as compared to their European counterparts.

Causes of Obesity

The primary cause of obesity is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and expended. This is due to humans adopting more of the sedentary lifestyle rather than going for a short workout. Furthermore, many people have jobs where they are desk-bound, sitting for hours without moving much of their body parts. They also rely on cars, rather than walking or cycling. This inactive ‘mode’ means that the individual does not use the energy provided by the food they eat, and the extra energy consumed will be stored in the body as fats. Poor diet also contributes to obesity. Obesity is acquired over time and not overnight. 

Poor diet includes:

  • Eating large amounts of processed or fast food that is high in fat and sugar.
  • Drinking too much alcohol
  • Eating larger portions that what you need
  • Eating out a lot – Food at hawker centres and restaurants are mainly high in fat and sugar which makes it nice to eat

What can be done?

The ultimate goal in reducing the risk of being obese is to achieve the ideal energy balance. The ideal energy balance is
that the amount of calories consumed = amount of calories expended.

Other methods include:

  • Limiting energy intake from total fats. Shift fat consumption from saturated fats to unsaturated fats which increases the level of good fats in the body and promotes a healthy heart.
  • Eat more fruits and vegetables. Legumes, nuts and whole grains are also acceptable.
  • Limit intake of sugars.
  • Exercise regularly. It is recommended for an individual to spend at least 150 minutes a week doing moderate intensity workouts and 75 minutes of high intensity exercises. That will be 15-20 mins a day.

A little Tip-off !

Apart from watching your diet and all, an individual can also take coconut oil to reduce their weight. Coconut oil contains a lot of saturated fats. SATURATED FATS? It’s harmful right?

Well, in coconut oil it is a bit special. The saturated fats in coconut oil contains Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT) which can be broken down by the liver to produce energy quickly and efficiently. This therefore boost your metabolism and therefore, you can burn more fats, thus reducing the fat body percentage in the body. This will then result in the loss of weight.

Other benefits of coconut oil include:

  • Coconut oil is jam-packed with lauric acid which is the immune supporting nutrient.
  • Promotes heart health. The lauric acid helps actively in preventing various heart problems. It does not
    lead to the increase of Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and reduce the incidence of injury as well as damage to
    arteries thus preventing atherosclerosis.
  • Increases cells regeneration. When metabolic rate increases, cell regeneration speeds up as well. This means
    the body is able to replace the old cells with the new cells at a faster rate.
  • Recommended consumption: 2 teaspoons per day