Developing a Healthy Lifestyle: Obesity Is Both a Physical and Mental Disorder.
Health has been prioritized in America as well as other nations globally. Almost all governments in the world are working towards providing the best quality of healthcare for their citizens and this entails allocation of significant amounts of finances towards the healthcare sector. An example, the US budgeted an estimated 3.5 trillion dollars in 2017 to specifically cater for the needs of healthcare departments (Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget). In addition, medical students are exposed to thorough and extensive studies that are targeted to produce the most excellent practitioners for the benefit of societies with respect to treatment of illnesses.
While the government and learning institutions are doing such great tasks, it is unfortunate that society members are continuing to expose their bodies to diseases’ triggers and this creates a huge burden for the hospitals with large numbers of chronically ill patients who are suffering from recurring disorders. In essence, there lacks adequate information to patients related to healthy lifestyles. If asked, patients are aware of the need to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly etc. but are not aware of the link between their physical and mental health.
There is a strong correlation between mental and physical health. To illustrate this, obesity will be assessed as a health condition that is a factor of both mental and physical health. Obesity has long been understood to be an eating disorder that can be treated by adopting healthier diets and engaging in physical exercises. The cost for treating obesity as a physical disorder has been increasing with time. There is little attention given to obesity as a mental health disorder because the associations not clear both to patients and to medical practitioners (Kate M. Scott). According to research, obesity has strong correlation with a mental disorder particularly depression (NAMI). The link between the two health conditions has not been fully established due to the different methodologies and approaches that are deployed in various studies. Many studies fail to consider demographic and socioeconomic factors that may establish be useful in showing a clear correlation between obesity and mental health (Kate M. Scott). Given the large numbers of obesity victims, and the growing concerns of depression and other mental illnesses, there appears to be a strong link between the two.
In the last few years, American and other societies have recorded an upheaval in the number of people diagnosed with mental disorders. For example, in America, depression has been on the rise and according to a study conducted by the National Alliance of Mental Illnesses, an estimated 21.4 percent of American youths suffer from a mental disorder at some point in their lives (NAMI). In addition, more than 10 percent of children between the ages of 8 and 15 are diagnosed with a mental ailment. From the estimates, societies are expected to have more similar and severe cases in the future. This presents a worrying reason for employers who are afraid of lacking reliable workforce in the future. According to National Alliance of Mental Illnesses, an estimated 18.5 percent of all adults in America are diagnosed with mental disorder annually (NAMI).
Obesity has long been perceived from a physical perception but also has a mental dimension. Major causes of obesity have been identified as increased intake of foods that rich in sugars and fats and lack of physical exercises (Apovian , pp.278S). This result in weight gain that occurs at quite fast rate and majority of victims feel mentally disturbed and easily develop depression. Other impacts of obesity include increased likelihood of developing hypertension and cardiovascular diseases and are also associated with poor mental health outcomes. The adverse effects of obesity can be avoided by taking victims to participate in exercises so as to lose some of the excess weight and achieve the desired body mass index (Apovian , pp.278S). However, treating obesity as a physical disease may not lead to higher health outcomes as when the mental aspect of the disorder is incorporated in the treatment plan.
According to the world health organization worldwide estimates in 2014, approximately 40 percent of adults are overweight (Menon , pp. 193). This implies that they have a body mass index that is equal to or greater than 25 kilograms per square meter (Kate M. Scott). One in every three of the adults within this BMI range are obese i.e. they have a BMI of equal or greater than 30kg/m2. In the study which was carried out in India, rapid urbanization and the dynamic socioeconomic has resulted in increased obesity among both rural and urban populations (Kate M. Scott). The trend has been present in younger populations and is increasing in the last few years. In short, obesity is an epidemic that cuts across populations and ethnic and sociocultural peripheries and worth being considered a public health issue of concern (Menon).
According to several studies, both developed and developing nations obesity and mental disorder prevalence have a strong correlation with the preference of slim bodies (Apovian , pp.279S). In addition, obesity and mental illnesses have also been assessed against the socioeconomic status of the victims. Mental diseases in this case include anxiety, stress, depression, and over-alcoholism. Studies have also attempted to establish whether demographic variables such as gender, age and education level have any effect on the prevalence of mental disorders and obesity (Kate M. Scott).
Physical and mental health are related in various ways. It is unfortunate that majority of people are aware of how to maintain their physical well-being e.g. by taking the rights foods and exercising. This shows a greater concentration on physical health than mental health. The impacts on mental health disorders are underrated and few people are putting efforts to maintain mental health. Insomnia and irregular appetites which are significantly indicators of mental disorder are ignored. As a result, mentally ill persons will continue to consume much food most of which is unhealthy leading to obesity. This is the reasons why majority of mental health victims are also likely to be victims of eating disorders such as obesity.
Sex, age and socioeconomic factors have been postulated to be prospective determinants of the link between obesity and depression or mental disorders (Kate M. Scott). According to several studies, obesity is highly associated with depression in women but is not strongly correlated in men. However, psychiatrists have developed a range of mental disorders and obese men are likely to be diagnosed with a mental disorder within the developed range. In general, psychiatrists have established a positive relationship between obesity and a number of mental disorders and this relationship are also determined by ethnicity and education level. There lacks clear distinction between the cases with gender. A different study however, that was performed by the New Zealand Mental Health concluded that obesity was strongly associated with mental disorders in relatively younger women.
Due to the increased mental disorders and obesity cases, the two have been accepted as public health concerns. Mental health disorders are the major health burden while obesity is the number one cause of many chronic but preventable illnesses. Studies have reached a consensus that men and women who are diagnosed with mental disorder also experience higher risk of becoming obese than individuals with mental uprightness. With respect to age, it still remains unclear whether aging influences the relationship between mental health and obesity. In most cases, the aged people are the most victims of mental disorders and obesity. In most cases, the aged suffer from chronic illnesses and are physically ill and this may contribute to obesity and mental diseases.
Mental health problems can be the cause of obesity and can also be the effects of obesity (Mika Kivimäki , pp.154). As a cause, mental problem triggers poor feeding habits that lead to weight gains. As an effect of obesity, mental disorder may result from the discomfort and discontentment with heavy weight which may cause one to be stressed or depressed. It is important to note that mental disorder can cause one to over eat or under-eat. Both behaviors should be used as signs of mental disorder which if not treated can lead to excess weight gain or excess weight loss. Exercise has been the most immediate resort for anyone with perceived features of excess body weight. However, exercise according to mental health specialists has been found to increase the depressive symptoms of individuals diagnosed with depression. Besides, pharmacological treatments that are used to treat depression have been found to impact negatively on the weight of the victims and usually results in weight gain or weight loss or both. Tricyclic antidepressants cause individuals to gain weight while selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors cause victims to lose weight.
The perceived association between mental diseases and obesity presents a greater future risk of mental illnesses especially in modern societies where obesity or generally higher body weights are considered unattractive and culturally unacceptable. Victims of obesity are stigmatized. With the rise in weight related stereotypes and the media perpetuated sense of beauty that disregards big bodies while over-valuing slim bodies, it is likely that more mental disorders will be experienced. It is also possible that individuals just like it has always ben will resort to dieting and exercise to lower their body weights while ignoring the need to treat their mental health. The use of surgical induction to lose weight will also increase and in relation more depression cases will be reported (Mika Kivimäki , pp.154). With respect to age, as chronic pains and physical disabilities increase among the aged, obesity and mental disorders will also increase and thus aging is reinforcement to the relationship between mental disorder and obesity.
In conclusion, obesity and mental illnesses are strongly related in a cause-effect relationship. Obesity can result from mental disorder and can also be a trigger of mental disorder. In order to successfully treat obesity and mental diseases, it is important to identify what has caused the other. This will facilitate treatment of the actual cause of illness and eventually the victim will embark on a lifestyle that prevents similar problems in future. Obesity is thus not a disorder that should be treated physically by dieting and exercise because it has a mental health dimension that should also be treated.
Work cited
Apovian, Caroline M. “The Caues, Prevalence, and Treatment of Obesity Revisited in 2009: What Have We Learned So Far?” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition vol. 91, is.1 (2010): 277S-2779S. Article.
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “American Health Care: Health Spending and the Federal Budget.” 2018. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. https://www.crfb.org/papers/american-health-care-health-spending-and-federal-budget. 10 May 2019.
Kate M. Scott, Ronny Bruffaerts, Gregory E. Simon, Jordi Alonso, Matthias Angermeyer, Giovanni de Girolamo, Koen Demyttenaere, Isabelle Gasquet, Josep Maria Haro, Elie Karam. “Obesity and Mental Disorders in the General Population: Results from the World Mental Health Surveys.” NCBI-PMC (2007): 192-200. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2736857/.
Menon, TM Rajan and V. “Psychiatric disorders and obesity: A review of association studies.” Journal of Postgraduate Medicine (2017): 182-190. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5525483/.
Mika Kivimäki, G. David Batty, Archana Singh-Manoux,. “Association between common mental disorder and obesity over the adult life course.” The British Journal of Psychiatry (2009): 149-155. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2770241/.
NAMI. “Mental Health Conditions- Depression.” National Allinace on Mental Illness (2019). https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Depression.
