Morbid Obesity: Definition, Incidence, Etiology & Diagnosis - Research Paper

Introduction

Today, a considerable population of U.S citizens is overweight and obese. The number of those severely or morbidly obese continues to rise steadily annually, revealed by various health studies and reports. Not only in the U.S but also the rest of the world, morbid obesity is significantly arousing health concerns since it is an ever-growing health challenge. Therefore, it is prudent to focus energies on the topic of morbid obesity. The paper is premised on definition, incidence, etiology, diagnostic tests, signs, and symptoms as well as treatments associated with morbid obesity.

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Definition of Morbid Obesity

Morbid Obesity is defined as a health condition where an individual has excessive body fat amounts brought about by an unusually elevated body mass index (BMI) higher than 35. BMI is a scale of weight range which assists doctors and other health professionals to establish if an individual's weight is within the established range of healthy weight range (Abdelaal, le Roux, & Docherty, 2017). In some cases, one may be considered to be morbidly obese, even with a BMI of less than 35. The ranges of BMI are as follows:

Normal= 19.0 to 24.9

Overweight= 25.0 to 29.9

Obese stage 1= 30.0 to 34.9

Obese stage 2= 35.0 to 39.9

Morbidly Obese stage 3= 40.0/ 40.0+

Incidence

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the recent past has carried out statistics on the prevalence of Obesity more so in adults and youth in the U.S through National Center for Health Statistics. The reports of the statistics are reliable and accurate as the organization is characterized by high level of professionalism and financial capabilities. According to the published findings on incidence of Morbid Obesity in the U.S between 2015 and 2016, the health condition was highly prevalent in adults (Alvarenga, Menzo, Szomstein, & Rosenthal, 2016). The percentage of adults diagnosed with morbid obesity was 39.8% and 18.5% for youths living with the condition (Alvarenga et al., 2016). Adults of age bracket 40-59 recorded higher prevalence of obesity than adults of age bracket 20-39 constituting both men and women.

On the other hand, the prevalence of morbid obesity among the youths aged 2-5 years was lower in comparison with other older youths involving boys and girls. The prevalence of morbid obesity was higher in women than men among Hispanic adults, non-Hispanic Asian, and non-Hispanic Blacks. On the side of the youths, no significant difference was realized in the numbers of those affected between boys and girls having similar Hispanic origin and race. The 2015 and 2016 findings further revealed that morbid obesity prevalence was higher among the non-Hispanic black as well as youths and adults of Hispanic origin compared with other Hispanic-origin groups and races. The number of men with Morbid Obesity was similar between non-Hispanic white men and non-Hispanic black but higher among Hispanic men than non-Hispanic black men. For women, Hispanic women and non-Hispanic black recorded similar incidence, and the two groups had a higher incidence of morbid obesity compared with non-Hispanic white women (Kagan, Balliro, Carr-Locke, Dann, Guterman, Ikramuddin, & Thomas, 2015). The number of youths with morbid obesity was higher among the Hispanic youths and non-Hispanic black compared with both non-Hispanic Asian youths and non-Hispanic white. The study revealed that morbid obesity rose steadily among both youth and adults between 1999-2000 and 2015-2016.

Etiology of Morbid Obesity

Morbid obesity is a chronic condition that has several causes. Many kinds of research reveal that there exists a certain category of individuals who are genetically predisposed or highly susceptible to the accumulation of fat compared with others. However, genetics have failed to account for the reason why morbid obesity is on the rise over time, affecting a vast population worldwide. Other contributing factors that also cause morbid obesity includes energy imbalance, level of energy consumption, psychological factors, environmental factors, as well as medical factors like Prader-Willi syndrome (Kagan et al., 2015). Risk factors that contribute to the disease are personal habits like the choices of food and mental factors such as stress and anxiety, which results in the production of large quantities of cortisol (stress hormone), which causes weight gain.

Signs and Symptoms of Morbid Obesity

The core symptom associated with the disease is possessing a BMI of 35 or higher. An individual with health problems such as hypertension or diabetes, which are obesity-related, is likely to also suffer from morbid obesity. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that the significant signs and symptoms characterizing morbid obesity are walking difficulties, breathing troubles, excessive buildup of fats around the body, and running short of breath (Kagan et al., 2015).

Diagnostic Test for Morbid Obesity

Mayo Clinic, a worldwide recognized institution for patient care and various related health information, has availed diagnosis of morbid obesity, which entails a series of tests and physical examinations. To begin with, the health history of an individual is taken. The doctor reviews one's family health history to check if they could have been predisposed.

Moreover, eating patterns, exercise habits, and other health-related issues like stress levels are examined. Secondly, a general physical exam involves measuring blood pressure, heartbeat, height, and examination of the abdomen is done. Thirdly, the BMI of an individual is calculated to determine whether it is above 30. After that, the waist circumference is measured. Visceral fat or abdominal fat is the fat stored around the waist and contributes to the risk of acquiring obese-related diseases like diabetes. Women with waist circumference greater than 35 inches or 89 centimeters and men with waist circumference greater than 40 inches or 102 centimeters are likely to be at risk of being diagnosed with morbid obesity (Khan, Kim, Sanossian, & Francois, 2016). Lastly, the doctor may check for other health problems like high blood pressure and conduct blood tests such as cholesterol tests, thyroid tests, and liver function tests. The results obtained will aid the doctor in establishing whether or not one has morbid obesity and how much weight one needs to cut off.

Treatment

According to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), which provides well researched and detailed biomedical information reveals that there exists a wide range of treatment options for morbid obesity such as medications, surgery, complementary medicine, and homeopathic. The primary purpose the treatments seek to achieve is loss of weight. Medications are less reliable since the moment a morbidly obese person seizes from taking medication, the person is likely to regain the weight. Surgery is usually the last resort for some morbidly obese persons where treatments like medication, complementary medicine, and homeopathic treatments have not borne any success (Khan et al., 2016). The two main surgical options available to morbidly obese individuals are gastric bypass and gastric banding. Gastric bypass procedure entails bypassing some portions of the stomach, while gastric banding procedure involves placing a ring around the stomach limit food and water entering the stomach. Homeopathic treatment assists in correcting digestive disorders, elimination of wastes, and improving metabolism which eventually contributes to weight loss. Examples of homeopathic drugs are Lycopodium, Nux Vomica, and Natrum Mur. Complementary and alternative medicine for morbidly obese persons is herbal supplements, non-invasive body-contouring, and acupuncture.

Conclusion

In summary, more emphasis needs to be put on tackling morbid obesity due to its high prevalence. There is a need for the creation of awareness on the type of lifestyle to adopt to decrease registered cases of morbid obesity. Further research should also be done through partnerships to establish other convenient and affordable treatment options for morbidly obese individuals.

References

Abdelaal, M., le Roux, C. W., & Docherty, N. G. (2017). Morbidity and mortality associated with obesity. Annals of translational medicine, 5(7). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5401682/

Alvarenga, E. S., Menzo, E. L., Szomstein, S., & Rosenthal, R. J. (2016). Safety and efficacy of 1020 consecutive laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomies performed as a primary treatment modality for morbid obesity. A single-center experience from the metabolic and bariatric surgical accreditation quality and improvement program. Surgical endoscopy, 30(7), 2673-2678. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Samuel_Szomstein/publication/283544253_Safety_and_efficacy_of_1020_consecutive_laparoscopic_sleeve_gastrectomies_performed_as_a_primary_treatment_modality_for_morbid_obesity_A_single-center_experience_from_the_metabolic_and_bariatric_surgi/links/566ef3e408ae0e4446b432e8/Safety-and-efficacy-of-1020-consecutive-laparoscopic-sleeve-gastrectomies-performed-as-a-primary-treatment-modality-for-morbid-obesity-A-single-center-experience-from-the-metabolic-and-bariatric-surgi.pdf

Kagan, J., Balliro, J., Carr-Locke, D., Dann, M., Guterman, L., Ikramuddin, S., & Thomas, R. (2015). U.S. Patent No. 9,060,844. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved from https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c9/71/19/1d5bb5ec12a34e/US9060844.pdf

Khan, A., Kim, A., Sanossian, C., & Francois, F. (2016). Impact of obesity treatment on gastroesophageal reflux disease. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 22(4), 1627. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4721994/