It has been said that Filipino people will be obese by the year 2030.  The reason behind this speculation relies on the fact that the emerging convenient food and fast food chains influence each Filipinos to make it a part of their daily diet.  That is why many healthcare providers and nutrition advocates continue to make efforts to stop people from gaining weight.  Truly the increasing obesity in the Philippines is said to be more of a health threat than a lifestyle indicator.

Filipinos love extra rice.  The main cause of obesity is over consumption of food.  The usual path of calories should be from digestion to absorption, metabolism to energy production.  When too much calories are consumed, the substances that are not burned by energy will eventually turn into fat.  These then will cause alarming health concerns as fat blocks healthy circulation in the body.  Here are other causes of obesity which is also linked to overeating.

• Psychological problems. There is such a thing called emotional eating.  This happens when a person eats in order to relieve himself from remembering past experiences or current personal problems.  This is the most dangerous cause of obesity since it entails both psychological and physical warfare.
• Metabolic diseases. Some metabolic diseases like thyroid problems have complications of d gaining weight at uncontrollable amount.  The thyroid is related to metabolism and one disease called hypothyroidism slows down metabolism that causes weight gain even if lesser food intake is done.
• Voluntary Mistakes. This is also called lack of energy balance.  There are many people who do not take exercise seriously or are not doing physical activity on a daily basis.  It is important to know that an energy coming from food must be burnt equally by doing physical activity.

These are the major causes of obesity that raises the concern of increasing weight gain in the Philippines.  There should be an effort to promote a good weight management by the patient and allied health professional.  If you are one of the people who a has a BMI of more than 30, then you need lifestyle intervention that requires you to eat certain amount of food.  Here are quick tips:

• Eat more food that is high-in fiber, consider them as snacks instead of grabbing chips and sodas. Popcorn and orange juice can be a good combination to start.
• Avoid high-fat meals one day at a time.
• Find time to do exercise, start at 15 minutes.

Obesity can be avoided.  This statement relies on you.