Understanding Obesity

Obesity is a common condition among adults in America, with an estimated 1 in 3 people over the age of 18 being labeled as 'obese' - a rate that has more than doubled during the last 40 years. In response to this growing epidemic, there have been countless medical studies, experiments, and research programs dedicated to understanding obesity.

Of course, obesity isn't just a problem in the United States. People around the world are struggling with excess pounds, with most of Europe, Australia, Canada, and the Middle East ranking among the most overweight nations in the world.

What Causes Obesity?

Medical experts are still working on fully understanding obesity, but for now, most doctors agree that changes in our diet and activity levels have caused this sudden rise in average body weights.

In the past, most people worked at jobs that were physically demanding - that meant that they burned lots of fat and calories during their normal daily activities. In addition to having jobs that required a lot of physically demanding work, people also lived without modern conveniences like cars, electricity, running water, and central heat. That meant that everyday activities like cooking, cleaning, heating their homes, and traveling required lots and lots of energy, and all that activity helped to keep everyone from becoming obese.

Now that most people tend to have jobs where they sit down most of the day, people no longer burn lots of calories and fat while at work. We also tend to walk less and rely on automobiles for transportation, and instead of growing our food, we simply pick up our groceries at the local market.

Unfortunately, our metabolisms haven't adjusted to all these modern conveniences, and as a result, our bodies simply don't burn enough fat and calories to keep up with what we're taking in.

To make matters worse, processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt have become a big part of our daily diets, and eating these kinds of foods can make gaining weight easy, and losing weight tough.

Help Is Available

Here at Virginia Bariatrics, our team of caring, compassionate weight loss experts is led by Dr. Matthew Fitzer, an experienced, skilled bariatric surgeon who has helped thousands of adults deal with excess weight through weight loss surgery like LAP-BAND, gastric sleeve, and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

If you would like additional help in understanding obesity and the ways it may be impacting your life call us at 703.709.9771 or contact us online.