The gastroenterologist spoke about the severe consequences of obesity

Obesity can provoke various diseases — blood vessels and heart, liver, joints suffer, the risk of cancer increases, and reproductive function worsens. Overweight people are more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders, chronic fatigue, and cognitive decline, Ekaterina Kashukh, an expert at the Hemotest Laboratory and a gastroenterologist, told Izvestia on April 20.

According to her, an obese person experiences high social pressure due to the fact that he does not meet the conventional norm and is often subjected to condemnation and discrimination.

"Constant pressure, ridicule and prejudice can lead to a decrease in self-esteem, depression and even the fact that a person begins to seize stress, gaining even more weight. It turns out to be a vicious circle: the more condemnation, the higher the anxiety and the more difficult it is to control nutrition and take care of physical fitness," the doctor noted.

She also explained that body positivity originally appeared as a movement against discrimination based on appearance. Its goal is to reduce stress levels related to appearance and help people feel worthy, regardless of weight. However, body positivity can play a cruel joke with health: a person may not notice dangerous changes, taking them for the norm.

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"Obesity is not a question of appearance, but a big threat to health. It increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer and other serious diseases. From the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract. Obesity often leads to fatty liver hepatosis, and in almost a third of patients, the condition progresses to cirrhosis or liver cancer," Kashukh added.

In addition, obesity increases the risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease, gallstone disease and pancreatitis. This significantly worsens the quality of life. Therefore, it is important to monitor changes in the body and be able to distinguish the norm from pathology.

"The sooner a person notices that they have started to gain weight, the easier it will be to solve the problem. In the initial stages, it is usually enough to adjust the diet to reduce daily calorie intake and increase physical activity. But here you should act with caution: do not completely remove your favorite foods, as this can lead to breakdowns and even more weight gain, do not give excessive loads in the gym," explained the gastroenterologist.

She advised starting with gradual, feasible changes: add more vegetables and fruits to your daily diet, reduce portions, reduce the proportion of sugar and fatty foods, and increase physical activity — walk more at an active pace, add light home workouts. According to her, it is important to choose activities that will be enjoyable so that new habits can be fixed for a long time.

"If you can't cope with excess weight on your own, you should consult a doctor. First of all, to a therapist or an endocrinologist. The specialist will help identify possible pathological causes of weight gain (for example, hormonal disorders), prescribe the necessary examinations and select an individual weight loss program," Kashukh said.

Earlier, on April 2, Andrey Martyushev-Poklad, a market expert at the National Technology Initiative (NTI) Helsnet, PhD, told Izvestia that it is impossible to get rid of excess weight if a person has nutritional deficiencies, sleep disorders, or if he is in chronic social stress. According to the expert, a competent approach to weight loss is to take into account the nutritional value of foods and the hormonal signals that food and other lifestyle factors trigger in the body.