Being a person who has always struggled to maintain a healthy weight, I have often relied on nutritionists’ assistance. In recent years, after an extended period of laziness and gaining a lot of weight, I was told that I had probably developed insulin resistance. I have since dealt with my weight issue, but I often hear from people around me about their struggle with the same issue. This has made me curious why this issue is now on the rise and what its implications might be.
Why now?
Overweight is a condition of excessive fat deposits, while obesity is a chronic complex disease defined by excessive fat deposits that can impair health. Worldwide, more than one billion people are obese—650 million adults, 340 million adolescents, and 39 million children.
In March 2023, the World Obesity Federation (WOF) released a report stating that, by 2035, over 4 billion people—more than half the world’s population—will be obese. According to the report, obesity rates are rapidly rising among children, primarily those in lower-income countries. Obesity could impact over 200 million boys and 170 million girls within the next decade, the researchers predict.
Dr. Dana Hunnes, assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a clinical inpatient dietitian at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center explains the reasons behind the rise of obesity: “Many low and middle-income countries are going through a nutrition transition, where they change their diet from historical and healthy whole-food—mostly plant-based staples—to a diet that is filled with highly processed foods and more animal-based foods”.
A 2019 article by the World Health Organization (WHO) supports Dr. Hunnes’ statement by summarizing that the major causes behind the climbing rates of obesity include the disappearance of fresh food markets, control of food chains by supermarkets, and the increasing mass production of processed foods in many countries.
Obesity can lead to increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease; it can affect bone health and reproduction, and it increases the risk of certain cancers. Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that causes the level of sugar (glucose) in the blood to become too high. It can cause symptoms like excessive thirst, needing to pee a lot, and tiredness.
Type 2 diabetes is often linked to being overweight or inactive, or having a family history of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by problems with a chemical in the body (hormone) called insulin.
What does insulin do exactly?
All of your body’s cells need energy; insulin is the key that opens the doors of the cells in your body. Once insulin opens your cell doors, glucose can leave your bloodstream and move into your cells where you use it for energy.
Without enough insulin, glucose cannot get into your cells and instead builds up in your blood. This leads to high blood sugar and diabetes; a total lack of insulin for a prolonged time leads to a life-threatening complication called diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA).
Insulin also signals your liver to store extra blood sugar as energy for later. If you have not eaten recently, your liver releases stored blood sugar so energy is always available.
Sources & References
www.uclahealth.org
www.theguardian.com
www.who.int
www.nhs.uk
www.cdc.gov
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22601-insulin
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