Carbohydrates

Optimum energy is generated by carbohydrates in the body. Crystal sugar, jaggery, barley, gram, corn/maize, rice, sugars obtained from vegetables (like beets, sweet potato etc), fruits like grapes, mangoes, cherry, apricot, dates, raisins, coconut (fresh), currants, apples, oranges, sweet lime etc. Carbohydrates obtained from fruits metabolise quickly as compared to the ones generated by grain cereals. In diabetes carbohydrates, in excessive quantity, are prohibited but must not be totally eliminated from daily diet. Milk, cheese, yeast, honey have also carbohydrates whereas cow's / goat's milk, Yogurt have low calorie carbohydrates. In obesity, role of carbohydrates cannot be denied.

If a person consumes too much of carbohydrates and fat containing food, his weight is bound to increase. If an ailing and bed-ridden patient resorts to too much intake of carbohydrates, but is not in a position to take to physical activity, he is bound to gain weight and may even become a diabetic or, at least, get prone to the risk of diabetes.

Malfunctioning of Endocrine Glands

"An endocrine influence on body fat is seen both in normal physiological situations and in pathological states. The normal content of young adult woman is twice that of youngman, and pregnancy is characterised by an increase in body weight. Obesity in woman commonly begins at puberty, during pregnancy or at the menopause. Obesity frequently, but not invariably, accompanies hypothyroidism, hypogonadism, hypopituitarism and cushing's syndrome. However, the overwhelming majority of obese patients show no clinical evidence of an endocrine disorder. Plasma insulin and cortisol are commonly raised and growth hormone reduced in obese subjects, but these changes probably result from, rather than cause, the obesity, since they disappear when weight is lost.

Hypothyroidism is not a decided factor in causing obesity, though, in some obese patients it is also the cause. Deficiency of this hormone can be effectively met with administration of tablets of thyroxine (available in 25,50,100 mg tablets) but strictly under medical advice and supervision.

Age Factor

Obesity is generally prevalent in middle age, but it could occur at any stage of life. Weight gain at pregnancy, after delivery, at the time of or after menopause, is quite common. But if a child or adolescent becomes obese at these stages, he will most likely remain an obese in adult life also. After delivery most ladies, irrespective of age, have heavier buttocks, thick thighs, pendulous abdomen and large-sized breast, and all these changes help them towards obesity but, during course of time, most of them regain their former weight, if they continue with recommended exercises. Persons suffering from gout and other disabilities put on extra weight due to lack or absence of physical activity—here age is no bar. If a crippling disability afflicts aperson, he can gain weight at any stage of life.

Heredity

It is not necessary that obese parents will necessarily have obese children. Even twin babies do not have an identical weight


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Similarly, slim and trim parents also have obese children and vice versa. But genetic and environmental factors do play an important role, as effects of environment, in certain regions of our country, daily use of carbohydrates and fats is customary and inmates of such areas are seen to be generally obese. There is no denying fact that food habits play a significant role in pushing up weight. During the last 25 years, there has been a progressive increase in the percentage of obese and overweight people. Children of obese parents have high risk factor in inheriting obesity from their parents but, even then, exceptions are still many.