Class III Obesity: Symptoms, Risk Factors, Causes, and Treatment

What is Class III Obesity?

Class III obesity, previously known as morbid obesity, is a complex chronic condition that can lead to several serious health issues. When you resort to processed foods, it can increase the fat deposition in your body. Excessive weight is due to fat accumulation that links to health problems. When your BMI is over 30, you are obese. It is due to eating loads of calories and having an inactive lifestyle.  Likewise, it is also due to genetic disorders.

Signs and Symptoms of Class III Obesity

• Difficulty in sleeping or sleep apnea
• Daytime drowsiness
• Woman with knee pain
• Back and or joint pains
• Heavy sweating
• Intolerance to heat
• Body with skin folds
• Infections in skin folds
• Fatigue
• Depression
• A feeling of shortness of breath
• Hyperpigmentation in the skin folds and armpits
• Stretch due to endocrinological alteration
• Swelling and varicose veins in the lower limbs.
• Body Mass Index greater than 30 kg/m2.
• Waist circumference greater than 94 cm in men and 88 cm in women.
• High blood pressure

Risk Factors of Class III Obesity

• Hormone imbalances. Your body makes hundreds of hormones that each have unique and important functions. Many of those hormones can affect how your body signals that you need food and how your body uses energy. Chronic stress can increase cortisol levels, which can lead to weight gain and increase cravings for sweet, fatty, and salty foods. Low thyroid hormone levels can slow down your metabolism and lead to weight gain.
• Genetic factors. It has been shown that obesity is an inherited trait and that multiple genes are involved in the process.
• Cultural factors. Increasing portion sizes and marketing of calorie-dense foods can contribute to obesity.
• Socioeconomic and geographical factors.  Being low in socioeconomic status and having easier access to unhealthy fast foods than healthy whole foods can contribute to obesity. A lack of recreational facilities or parks and few safe or easy walking routes in your neighborhood can also contribute to obesity.

The Many Causes of Class III Obesity

When you eat, your body uses the calories you consume to run your body. The body also needs calories to pump your heart or digest food. If those calories are not used, the body stores them as fat. Your body will build up fat stores if you continue to eat more calories than your body can use during daily activities and exercise. Morbid conditions are due to chronic and uncontrolled weight gain caused by several factors.

Treatment and Management of Class III  Obesity

Treatment for excessive weight gain is a combination of therapy and the help of professionals to increase your chances of success. These includes:

1. Medication. If you are struggling with the desire to eat more than your allotted calories for the day, your doctor may suggest a medication that blocks fat absorption or acts as an appetite suppressant.
2. Diet and exercise. You may start by eating fewer calories than you burn but do so with the guidance of a medical professional to make sure you’re still getting enough nutrition. You also want to add in physical activity every day but you have to start small to avoid compromising your body.
3. Behavioral therapy. Sometimes old habits are so deeply set in the mind and are hard to overcome. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing your unhealthy habits and correcting your eating pattern or improving emotional coping mechanisms.
4. Surgery. If none of these things help sufficiently, you may need surgery to lose enough weight. Bariatric surgery works by sealing off most of your stomach, so you feel fuller faster. However, surgery is expensive and sometimes life-threatening.

Medication Used for Class III  Obesity

Orlistat. It is a drug that is prescribed to people suffering from morbid weight gain conditions. works by inhibiting the lipases that are required to break down the fatty acids, thereby preventing the absorption of fatty acids in the diet. Talk to your doctor about the risk, benefits, and further guidelines when taking orlistat for weight loss.