Obesity on Holistic Health

Obesity itself is a hindrance in achieving one’s ideal holistic health. Generally speaking, the view on obesity would mostly revolve on it as an issue regarding the physical health dimension. Just as how the other health dimensions (social, emotional, spiritual, mental) affect one another when weakened, the probability of obesity to manifest issues on another health dimension would considerably be high. But, how does one get obese? When is one considered to be obese?

 On a scale, the public’s view on obesity is mostly based on stereotypes. An overweight-looking person would sometimes be labeled as obese, without even consulting into medical confirmation or check-up. People’s body shape varies due to bone mass, bone structure, mass to fat ratio, and many more aspects. One’s ideal body fitness would differ from one person to another. Take for example these two body shapes, pear and hourglass. The proportions of their shoulders and bust to hips are widely different. At times, a person could be looked upon as ‘fat’, well in fact, he/she might actually be more fit than the others. People with obesity are commonly looked upon as those who are gluttonous and lazy. These are stereotypes that are to be broken. The more people label each other with improper terms, or justify an insult using medical terms, the more that depression or other emotional and mental concerns would rise.

 If the stereotypical thinking are false statements, then how are people classified to be obese and what methods could help solve the said matter? 

 Part of the physical fitness test is measuring one’s BMI or body mass index. This test is to measure one’s body fat, in relation to one’s height and/or age. Another clarification to state is that ‘obesity’ and ‘overweight’ are two different terms. A person with a BMI greater than or equal to 25 would be considered as overweight. The term ‘obese’ would fall under a BMI of 30 or greater. Once checked, it is best to consult a doctor and get treatment. Common ways to cope with the issue is to regularly exercise. However, obesity is mostly rooted from too much food intake and less movements. Due to the imbalance, fats are being stored in the body and are not properly broken down. Aside from this, obesity could actually fall in both categories of it being a disease, and obesity being a disorder. Restating the issue, the effect of obesity on holistic health is apparent. 

Obesity on Being a Disease

To start, the core meaning of disease is pathophysiological response of the body to internal or external factors. Common cold, cough, E.coli., and Chickenpox are all examples of a disease. On the contrary, obesity is the effect of fat build-up on one’s body. As a result, the BMI or body mass index shows imbalance. Due to the body’s disproportion, other diseases are most likely to be experienced and be diagnosed to the person. The increase in fat could lead to insulin resistance that has a high risk of diabetes. Almost 90% of people who have type 2 diabetes also have the condition of obesity. Insulin resistance could both be a result, or cause of fat build-up. A condition known as Metabolic syndrome is highly connected to the said issue being tackled. Once again, the insulin resistance caused by the syndrome hinders sugar to enter cells, resulting in a continued rise of the blood level even though the insulin hormone tries to balance the situation.

Obesity on Being a Disorder

Pointing to the fact that obesity is more than just ‘gluttony’, ‘laziness’, ‘not moving much’, obesity is a disease to take note of and give importance to. The above mentioned proves that the dimension of physical health is greatly affected and must be checked on to see and clear of any complications. Among the five dimensions, the physical aspect is one of those that are placed at risk on the issue of obesity.

Another factor to be considered is the thought of when does a condition classify under a disorder. Going back to the thought of ‘eating too much and moving too little’, it highly shows a relation to nervosa conditions, namely Anorexia Nervosa, and Bulimia Nervosa. Although nervosa is an eating disorder that centers on eating too little, the correlation between the two helps justify obesity as a disorder. If eating too little is an eating disorder, the opposite should be considered as well. Using nervosa conditions as examples once again, the said disorder is caused by the intense fear of gaining weight, due to the thought of dieting concerns and low self esteem. Other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety could lead to excessive food intake. However, do take note that the idea of ‘stress eating’ is a different term to consider. Not mainly because a person tend to rely on food when going through matters, means that he/she is an obese person. Discrimination on one’s weight is a viable cause for anxiety. With this, the quality of life that the person is experiencing could impact their eating habits and soon lead to excessive food intake. What’s worse is that once a person reach that BMI of 30 or above, discrimination in society is highly imminent. Instead of being open to go to gyms or practice exercise, a possible outcome of this would be Anorexia/Bulimia nervosa.

Discrimination and low-self esteem effects the dimension of both emotional and mental fitness. People who undergo obesity that are rooted from psychological reasons not only have an imbalance of fat to muscle to bone ratio, but the judgement of other people would also add up to make their difficult experience more difficult. The physical aspect of holistic health obviously has a big importance to one’s overall fitness. However, the emotional and mental aspects are of equal necessity and importance.

Obesity, as both a disorder and disease, is a downright hindrance in attaining holistic health. As previously mentioned, arguments on obesity show that the concern would limit one in achieving total fitness in the dimensions of physical, mental, and emotional vigor. As to that of spiritual and social, the psychological weight of obesity in an individual is a challenge when one tries to enhance these two aspects. 

 Needless to say, removing the attitude of being judgmental ought remove the barriers in society in the issue of discrimination. To be healthy does not only mean that one is to only become physically fit. Obesity is both a disease and disorder. Just as how it is hypocritical to blame one for having cough or colds, the same goes for mental conditions and obesity.

                                                                      Authored by

                                                                            Jodie Francisco Munar