Gut Microbiota Obesity Literature Review

1. Obesity:

Obesity is the condition in which excessive fat accumulation occurs. The abnormal or excessive fat accumulation may impair health which reduces the quality of life of the people. Obesity happens over time when person eats more calories than they use. The balance between in and calories out differs for each person. The factors that might affect the weight include, genetic makeup, overeating, eating high energy foods and not being physically active. Obesity is a metabolic disorder, which may increase the risk of various non-communicable serious conditions such as, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. It is a growing public health crisis that is global in scope. It is an exploding issue in Europe as well as in the United States. Due

1.4. Major causes of Obesity:

Obesity is caused by the imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. [4]

Typically, there are many reasons of obesity, major reasons are listed below:

1. Eating much more than required amount for the body. Our body tend to store the excess amount of energy, we consume in the form of fat.[5]

2. Doing less physical activity will also contribute to obesity. If we do not utilize the amount of energy we consumed, our body will conserve the surplus energy in the form of fat in the body [5, 6]

3. Even though the cause of obesity is mostly related to environmental factors, genetics also play a few roles in the development of obesity. Family traits such as, increased appetite, hormonal behavior are a few things that contribute to obesity. [7]

4. There are a few medical conditions as well, that contribute to the development of obesity such as, Cushing’s syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome and hypothyroidism. In addition to this, a few medications also cause weight gain such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause obesity. [5]