Obesity is classified as what type of disease?

Written by Tang Zhuo

Endocrinology

Updated on September 14, 2024

00:00

00:00

Obesity, also known as adiposis, is a chronic metabolic disease caused by excessive accumulation or abnormal distribution of body fat. Patients with this type of obesity often have excessive abdominal fat accumulation. Moreover, obesity is closely related to the occurrence of hypertension, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, cholecystitis, gallstones, osteoarticular disease, certain cancers, and various cardiovascular diseases.

Other Voices

home-news-image

Written by Luo Juan

Endocrinology

1min 45sec

home-news-image

symptoms of obesity

Regarding the symptoms of obesity, they vary with the type of disease. For example, in secondary cases, there are clinical manifestations of the primary disease. For instance, obesity caused by hypothyroidism may also present with fatigue, poor appetite, dry skin, etc. Some people have obesity due to insulinoma or recurrent hypoglycemia, leading to repeated eating. The clinical manifestations also include symptoms of hypoglycemia such as palpitations, trembling hands, sweating, and a sense of hunger. If it is a case of simple obesity, generally, men primarily show an apple-shaped obesity, with fat accumulated mainly above the waist. In contrast, women exhibit a pear-shaped obesity, with fat accumulation below the waist, such as in the lower abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. Of course, related to obesity, there are also manifestations of cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Some people with obesity may also experience sleep apnea syndrome, venous thrombosis, and so on. Studies suggest that the incidence of malignant tumors is also higher in patients with obesity. Because patients with long-term obesity carry excess weight for a long period, they may experience lower back pain, joint pain, swelling, and are more prone to abrasion or combined fungal or purulent infections in the folds of the skin. Therefore, the clinical manifestations of obesity vary according to the cause of the disease.

home-news-image

Written by Tang Zhuo

Endocrinology

1min

home-news-image

What is obesity?

Obesity is a common group of metabolic syndromes, which occurs when the caloric intake of a human body exceeds its caloric expenditure. The excess calories are then stored in the body in the form of fat. When this amount exceeds normal physiological needs and reaches a certain value, it evolves into obesity. There are many methods for assessing obesity, including anthropometry, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, ultrasound, CT, infrared sensing valves, and others. Obesity without a clear pathological cause is referred to as simple obesity, while obesity with a defined pathological cause is referred to as secondary obesity. The causes of obesity are of two types: one is primarily due to excessive diet and insufficient activity, where caloric intake exceeds caloric expenditure; the other is obesity caused by disorders of fat metabolism.

home-news-image

Written by Li Lang Bo

Endocrinology

1min 28sec

home-news-image

What medicine is taken for obesity?

Regarding obesity, first and foremost, one should not eat arbitrarily, meaning one should not randomly choose the so-called weight loss drugs available on the market. For obesity, we identify two types: primary obesity and secondary obesity. Primary obesity occurs without any specific reason, merely due to an irregular lifestyle, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, etc., leading to weight gain. Secondary obesity has identifiable medical causes; for example, weight gain caused by taking large amounts of exogenous hormones; or hypothyroidism leading to myxedema, which causes weight gain; or issues with the pituitary or adrenal glands leading to excessive secretion of cortisol in the blood, causing a redistribution of fat that results in Cushing's syndrome, among others. For these types of secondary obesity, it is important to identify the underlying causes and treat them accordingly. For primary obesity, it is not advisable to recommend weight loss drugs commonly found on the market. The first recommendation is to control the diet scientifically, combined with a certain intensity of aerobic exercise to reduce weight. Caution is advised with those weight loss drugs sold by online marketers; one should not consume them carelessly.

home-news-image

Written by Tang Zhuo

Endocrinology

41sec

home-news-image

What diseases are people with obesity prone to?

Obesity, also known as adiposis, is a chronic metabolic disease caused by excessive accumulation or abnormal distribution of body fat. It results from the interaction of multiple factors, including genetics and environmental elements. Patients with obesity have a significantly increased incidence of hypertension, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, osteoarticular diseases, and certain tumors and cardiovascular diseases are closely related to obesity.

home-news-image

Written by Li Lang Bo

Endocrinology

48sec

home-news-image

What tests are needed for obesity?

Obesity is divided into simple obesity and secondary obesity. Simple obesity refers simply to being overweight without any other primary diseases. Secondary obesity requires examination of certain conditions, such as hypothyroidism, which can lead to obesity, thus necessitating thyroid function tests; or Cushing's syndrome, which involves increased body weight due to excessive corticosteroid hormones produced by various causes, necessitating an examination of the cortisol rhythm and sometimes a dexamethasone suppression test, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary, and CT scan of the adrenal glands; also conditions such as depression or psychiatric illnesses that can lead to weight gain, requiring corresponding psychiatric scales, among others. In addition to these tests, it is also necessary to consider the patient's clinical symptoms and then conduct targeted examinations based on these symptoms.