What is Obesity? Endocrinologist from Mainz explains

MAINZ/WIESBADEN/FRANKFURT: The term obesity is borrowed from the Latin language and means both severe and pathological overweight. Translations such as obesity or obesity are also common. The so-called body mass index (BMI) provides an indication of obesity. This indicator, which is also known as the body mass index (BMI), body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet-Kaup index, measures a person’s body weight in relation to their height. The measure was developed back in 1832, in particular by Adolphe Quetelet. The BMI ‘height squared’ is a rough, simplified guide value. Factors such as gender, a person’s stature and the individual ratio between fat tissue and muscle mass are not taken into account.

Statistically, around 25 percent of Germans are obese/severely overweight

Guidelines for this are drawn up by the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ coordination agency for public health. According to this, a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 (kilograms per square meter) is considered obesity. Obesity is much more than just a sign of an unhealthy lifestyle.

For the endocrinologist Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Christian Wüster, who treats patients from the greater Frankfurt/Wiesbaden region in his hormone and metabolism center, obesity is a “disease that can have many causes.” According to Prof. Dr. Dr. Wüster, the resulting diseases include type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver, fatty tissue disorders and damage to the musculoskeletal system. In the endocrinologist’s opinion, an increased BMI does not automatically have to be problematic.

Is obesity hereditary, hormonal or even self-inflicted?

‘It is important to clarify the cause of obesity. Patients must be examined and, if necessary, treated individually, especially if they are overweight. Hormonal causes are also a possibility. It is primarily the hormones insulin and leptin that coordinate food intake processes in the brain – energy consumption and intake. The connections are complex. Is obesity hereditary, hormonal or even self-inflicted? Ultimately, the exact cause can only be clarified by an expert,’ says Prof. Dr Dr h. c. Christian Wüster, who investigates endocrine dysfunctions in his own laboratory.

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