HORMONES & YOUPatient Information Page

What is obesity?

Obesity is a chronic medical con-dition characterized by too muchbody fat. Obesity is diagnosed by anumber called the Body MassIndex (BMI), which calculates theamount of body fat. Your BMI iscalculated from your current heightand weight. The higher the BMIthe more body fat a person has.

Why care about obesity?

Both overweight and obesitycan make it more likely that youwill develop serious diseases, suchas diabetes, high blood pressure,heart disease, stroke, gallstones,high cholesterol, gout, most typesof cancer, and even early death.Obesity can also make many othermedical conditions more difficultto treat. Each year about 300,000adult Americans die of causes relat-ed to their obesity.

What causes obesity?

Obesity is very complex and notjust a simple problem of willpoweror self-control. In general, it iscaused by a combination of eating

too much and exercising too little,and genetics. Overweight or obesi-ty occurs when, over time, the bodytakes in more calories than it burns.However, some people do gainweight more easily than others.

Obesity can also be caused by ahormonal imbalance, as in hypo-thyroidism or Cushing’s disease,but this is rare. Our understandingof obesity is growing rapidly. Forexample, we now know that fat cellsproduce many hormones that playan important role in how much youeat, how much energy you spendand how much you will weigh.

How is obesity treated?

There is no simple solution or apill to cure obesity but there areeffective treatments to help man-age the condition. Obesity needsto be managed long-term with acombination of diet, increasedactivity and lifestyle changes. Someobese patients may also benefitfrom weight loss medication oreven surgery.

Ask your doctor what weight-loss treatment options are best foryou. Some people with conditionssuch as diabetes may need to bemonitored while they lose weight.Endocrinologists, specialists inhormones and metabolism, canhelp assess the cause of your obesi-ty and the possible complications,direct how you should be treated,and prescribe and monitor yourmedications.

What should I do with thisinformation?

Ask your doctor about your spe-cific weight loss needs and goals.The following lifestyle changes area good place to start:

• Reduce portions of foods thatare high in fat or sugar

• Eat more fruits, vegetables, andwhole grains

• Spend 30 minutes a day inmoderate physical activity (e.g.,brisk walking)

• Eat three meals every day,including breakfast

• Find opportunities to be morephysically active (e.g., take thestairs whenever possible, parkyour car farther out in theparking lot, etc.)

Don’t expect overnight results.There are no quick fixes. Aim for a5-10% weight reduction to start.Weight loss takes time and changesin diet and activity will need tocontinue for the rest of your life.

Resources

To calculate your BMI:http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm

American Diabetes Association: http://diabetes.org/homepage.jsp

American Dietetic Association:http://www.eatright.org/Public/

American Obesity Association:http://www.obesity.org/

Weight-control Information Network:http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/win.htm

Hormones and Obesity

For more information on how to find an endocrinologist, download free publications, translate this fact sheet into other languages, or make acontribution to The Hormone Foundation, visit www.hormone.org/bilingual or call 1-800-HORMONE. The Hormone Foundation, the publiceducation affiliate of The Endocrine Society (www.endo-society.org), serves as a resource for the public by promoting the prevention, treatment,and cure of hormone-related conditions. This page may be reproduced non-commercially by health care professionals to share with patients.Translation by MEDI-FLAG Corp.

© The Hormone Foundation 2004

E D I T O R S :Daniel Bessesen, MD

James Hill, MD Holly Wyatt, MD

April 2004

OB

ES

ITY

BMI Weight Status

Below 18.5........Underweight18.5 – 24.9 ................Normal25.0 – 29.9 ........Overweight30.0 and above ............Obese

Source: Centers for Disease Control.

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