Title: Obesity and Health risks

Biography:

I am a final year (BSc Hons) Physiotherapy student at the university of Malawi, College of Medicine. An elective student with Makelere University college of health sciences (Targeting Maternal health). Consortium of Universities for Global Health (Campus Rep).

Abstract

Obesity consists a major nutritional health problem in developed and developing nations, which has reached epidemic proportions. It is defined as the condition of excessive fat accumulation to such an extent that effects the individual’s health. It is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide.

Objective: The purpose of the review is to explore the obesity-related diseases and the essentiality of physiotherapy as a treatment.

Methods and material: the method include bibliography research from both the review and the research literature which carried out across Africa over the past five years and referred to obesity.

Results: The rampant increasing incidence of obesity is due to environmental factors that influence a genetically pathological predisposition. The body mass index (BMI) is an internationally accepted index to estimate body weight, which allows a comparison of prevalence rates worldwide.

Obesity has been known as a significant contributing factor in the development of chronic and serious diseases. These diseases include; cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2, hypertension, stroke, heart failure and sleep apnoea. Many of the research studies report that weight loss is the main goal of treatment of obesity. Physiotherapy which involves prescription of exercise programs, is the backbone and treatment option of obesity because it has no side effects.

Conclusion: The results of present review illustrate that obesity is a public health issue which is rapidly increasing and thus needs to be addressed seriously. Specific diet combined with physiotherapy treatments such as well programmed exercises can achieve the desired loss of body fat and are the most effective and long-lasting ways to treat obesity.