Junk food, physical inactivity lead to obesity

ISLAMABAD: The trend of having junk food, physical inactivity and eating more than the requirement are the leading causes of obesity among the people.

According to Dr Sharif Astori of the Islamabad's Polyclinic Hospital, people usually take food more than the requirement of their body, age, weight and ultimately suffer from the disease of obesity.

Talking to APP he said most of the people do not follow a balanced diet schedule due to their busy routine life.

They continue to sit on chairs after having meal during office hours, travel in cars and take rest at their homes without doing any exercise.

He said exercise is necessary for healthy life as it helps consume the food taken by the human body.

The amount of calories one takes should be consumed by physical exercise he added.

Dr Astori said the obesity also occurs genetically and when a person takes food more than the requirement extra calories and cholesterol are deposited in the human body which causes obesity.

Many people prefer cold drinks instead of drinking simple water which also causes obesity he said.

Most of the schools in the federal capital lack playgrounds which are essential for keeping students active and healthy.

Children and adults most of time remain stuck to electronic gadgets to play games and avoid going outside for physical activities.

Dr Rezzan Khan Consultant Nutritionist at Shifa International Hospital said unhealthy diet causes inflammation in human body and leads to obesity.

She said millions of people worldwide are at risk of being affected by obesity which is the root cause of many diseases.

Many obese individuals opt for a starvation diet to lose weight which is quite dangerous and only leads to further long term weight gain she added.

To prevent the reduction of the good bacteria she said one should be aware of antibiotics (do not use them unnecessarily) limit or avoid processed food avoid, artificial sweeteners, eat a predominantly plant based diet and consume both soluble and insoluble fiber for lifelong health.

She also pointed out that an overweight person is not necessarily an obese person as obesity is an excess of body fat resulting in significant impairment of health.

She said losing weight is not necessarily the same as losing fat.

Proper nutrition consultancy is a must for shedding body fat she added.