Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI), a measurement which compares weight and height, defines people as overweight (pre-obese) if their BMI is between 25 kg/m² and 30 kg/m², and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m²

Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes,breathing difficulties during sleep, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive dietary calories, lack of physical activity, andgenetic susceptibility, although a few cases are caused primarily by genes, endocrine disorders,medications or psychiatric illness. Evidence to support the view that some obese people eat little yet gain weight due to a slow metabolism is limited; on average obese people have a greater energy expenditure than their thin counterparts due to the energy required to maintain an increased body mass.