Diseases caused by excessive food

In cases when the caloric content of the daily diet is significantly higher than the energy consumption, a positive energy balance is observed, which in turn is characterized by the appearance of serious consequences in the form of diseases of excess nutrition, one of which is obesity.

Obesity is the accumulation of fat in the body, which leads to an increase in excess body weight by 20 percent or more from the average normal values, or the so-called "ideal" body weight. The degree of obesity depends on the body weight and is divided into obesity of the I degree( weight increase in comparison with the "ideal" by more than 29%), II degree( excess weight of the body is 30 - 49%), III degree( excess body weight is 50 -99%) and IV degree( when excess body weight is 100 or more percent).In our time, obesity is not only a medical, but also a social problem. Thus, the number of people suffering from various forms of obesity in the developed countries of the world is 20-30% of the total number of their population.

The human constitution must also be taken into account when determining the degree of obesity. These features are indicated in Tables 1 and 2.

Excess body weight and obesity occur in cases where the amount of calories coming with the food ration is much higher than the body's energy needs. In this case, there is a constant increase in the accumulation of excess weight, which increases the risk of developing such dangerous diseases as atherosclerosis( twice), hypertension( three times), CHD( one and a half times), diabetes( four times), cholelithiasis(six times), varicose veins( two to three times), polyosteoarthrosis( four times) and gout( three times).

The main mechanism for the development of obesity is the increase in the number or volume of fat cells( adipocytes) and the content of lipids in them. This process can occur throughout life, but the most critical periods for this are the last two months of pregnancy, the first year of life and the period of puberty. At this time, the number and size of adipocytes can reach a maximum value. Overfeeding and overweight in these critical periods represent the greatest risk of obesity. Obesity shortens life expectancy, and in adulthood because of it the ability to reproduce offspring is lost.

Thus, it can be concluded that both positive and negative energy balance adversely affects the state of the body, causing both various metabolic disorders, and functional and morphological changes in various body systems.

Materials used:
Shilov VN, Mits'yo VP"Healthy Nutrition"