What is Obesity?
Obesity is a medical disorder induced by inadequate nutrition in which the amount of fatty tissue accumulation inside the person body, as a result of the food ingested increases to a level that is detrimental to health. An obese individual is defined by medical professionals as having a BMI of greater than or equal to 30 kilogrammes per square metre. This is a common occurrence when the amount of food ingested exceeds the amount of physical exercise. When measured against a healthy weight-to-height ratio, a person is considered obese when their body fat content is at least 20 percent more than what is considered normal Agha (2017).
There are many different kinds of natural organic molecules that fall under the broad category of carbohydrate. The vast majority of our food is made up of carbohydrates, some of which are present in very little amounts, but most of which are present in significant proportions. Sugars, starch, and cellulose are all examples of common carbohydrates. Energy may be stored fast in our bodies through the consumption of carbohydrates. The majority of the world’s population relies on carbs as their primary source of energy. I’d want to talk about research that looked at the link between obesity and different types of carbohydrate intake. As a result of the present obesity epidemic, there has been a lot of discussion over the role of dietary carbs in weight loss. It is clear that a balanced carbohydrates diet is important, and the research will explain how it may have a big influence on weight gain and obesity (Sartorius, et. al., 2018).
Researchers found that “the investigation identified 22 papers that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and quantified a link between carbohydrate intake and obesity.” Obesity risk was somewhat elevated in the first pooled stratum (high-carbohydrate vs. low-carbohydrate consumption). Weight gain was shown to be reduced only somewhat in the second pooled stratum (increasing daily total carbohydrate consumption). However, neither of these pooled stratum estimates was statistically significant.” In other words, this research couldn’t infer that a high-carbohydrate diet causes obesity. Ingesting too many calories from any source — fat, carbs, and protein — is a surefire way to gain weight and become obese (Sartorius, et. al., 2016).
As a general rule, Obesity is a long-term medical problem that requires long-term medical treatment to lower the incidence of linked disorders and the death rate. Instead of how many carbohydrates an individual consumes, Sartorius explains, the quality of carbohydrates ingested impacts whether an individual becomes overweight (2018). For this reason, those who are at risk of overeating should abstain from white bread and spaghetti, as well as packaged foods, pastries, and sweets in general. This is because the items in question have a higher glycemic index, causing a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels. Extra blood sugar is stored as fat if it is not used by the human body. Aside from the fact that they lead to obesity, refined carbohydrate foods and high sugar content also cause diabetes and heart disease.
Carbohydrates and Energy
Since diverse settings employ non-standard dietary data, it’s difficult to compare the findings across studies. The research that was chosen did not, in particular, quantify the various carbohydrate groups. A high-carb diet is still not proven to be especially unhealthy. Studies show that eating a lot of carbs does not increase your risk of becoming obese. Scientists think that the success of this diet is due to the fact that refined carbohydrates like sugar have been eliminated and that a greater emphasis has been placed on healthy carbs high in fibre, protein, and fat (Vijayakumar, Narayanasamy, and Vellingir, 2018).
In the face of a global urban migration, obesity’s aetiology increasingly reflects excessive caloric consumption coupled with rising levels of sedentary activity. Foods produced by modern agriculture are typically substituted for traditional fare since they are less expensive and more energy rich. The interplay of genetic, environmental, and psychological variables is ultimately responsible for determining one’s body weight through the physiological regulators of energy imbalance. In spite of this, carbohydrate consumption has been associated to a wide range of health problems, including type 2 diabetes, for many years. Carbohydrates make up a large portion of the diets of most countries, despite the lack of evidence that they are the primary cause of worldwide obesity (Merchant, et. al., 2009). Therefore, this study is conducted to determine the main cause of obesity and whether high carbohydrate is a major cause of the same. When evaluating the research in this analysis, it is not possible to conclude that eating a high-carbohydrate diet or increasing the proportion of total energy intake from carbohydrates raises the risk of obesity. The non-standard classification of food consumption in the trials, as well as characteristics including total calorie intake, activity levels, age and gender, was a significant limitation of the study. In order to distinguish between refined and unprocessed carbohydrate consumption, and to investigate the link between high fat and high unprocessed carbohydrate–sugar diet, further research is required in this area.
Carbohydrates are an energy-producing macronutrient that can lead to overconsumption of calories and weight gain as a consequence. Changes to the overall quantity of carbohydrates consumed do not appear to have a major impact on human total energy consumption. For this study, researchers are looking into the link between high-carbohydrate intake and obesity risk.
- To evaluate the daily food intake of the people suffering with obesity and to assess the role of high carbohydrate food in it.
- To assess carbohydrate intake and its significance in overweight individuals and obesity patients.
- To recommend a healthy idea and importance of low-carbohydrate food.
The information will be gathered from a variety of primary and secondary sources. The data will be gathered through both qualitative and quantitative studies, according to the researcher. The researcher follows rigorous methods while working with both databases, including Sampling, proper sample size, the use of excellent equipment and protocols, and qualitative requirements, for instance, validity, comparability, generalisability, and correctness of the results and findings. In this study, the researcher combined two databases: the first was collected by a review of the literature, and the second was compiled through a survey of persons who were overweight or obese, in order to analyse their daily routines and dietary intakes. The main goal is to connect the databases together and undertake analysis that fulfils this goal while also providing fresh insights into the data set (Dawadi, et. al., 2021).
Research on the Link Between Carbohydrate Intake and Obesity
An example of how a mixed-methods researcher may perform the integration is to compare and contrast replies, explain the results of a previous phase, or do exploratory research prior to conducting measurements or assessment. The researcher conducted the study within wider biological assumptions, ideas, or perspectives that the researcher takes to the study and includes a theory or conceptual model into the study design that informs what the researcher expects to discover from the investigation (Halcomb, and Hickman, 2015).
An initial self-report questionnaire will be used to gather information about the participants’ eating habits and physical and physiological markers. The survey will include a total of 50 participants. Patients’ behaviour, communication, dietary habits, lifestyle, medicine, physical activity, immunizations and diagnostic tests were all included in the questionnaire. We gathered data from the questionnaire on what people ate and how much they ate, as well as how many servings they had each day. By multiplying the amount of food consumed by the number of servings consumed each day, the daily consumption of grammes of calories (g, kcal/day) of each food item which is included in regular food intake was calculated. Data from numerous studies, such as Google scholar and the CDCP were sorted for secondary research and qualitative study. During this process, pertinent papers were selected for further investigation and the remainder was left for future research.
When writing the research report, it is vital to address ethical aspects in order to maximise the effectiveness of the study. Because the researcher will be using secondary data collection methods for this study and will be sourcing the annual reports of the companies, the researcher will properly cite the documents that were used and will ensure that the collected data is properly credited, ensuring that no ethical violations are committed. Further, for the primary research and survey, a due ethical step is followed and a consent form will be signed by the participants to take ethical consent from them and avoid any violation (Connelly, 2014).
References
Agha, M. and Agha, R., 2017. The rising prevalence of obesity: part A: impact on public health. International journal of surgery. Oncology, 2(7), p.e17.
Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. ”Overweight & Obesity”. 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/#x2013;%20Overweight%20and%20Obesity%3C/a%3E %20
Connelly, L.M., 2014. Ethical considerations in research studies. Medsurg Nursing, 23(1), pp.54-56.
Dawadi, S., Shrestha, S. and Giri, R.A., 2021. Mixed-methods research: A discussion on its types, challenges, and criticisms. Online Submission, 2(2), pp.25-36.
Halcomb, E.J. and Hickman, L., 2015. Mixed methods research.
Merchant, A.T., Vatanparast, H., Barlas, S., Dehghan, M., Shah, S.M.A., De Koning, L. and Steck, S.E., 2009. Carbohydrate intake and overweight and obesity among healthy adults. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(7), pp.1165-1172.
Sartorius, B., Sartorius, K., Aldous, C., Madiba, T.E., Stefan, C. and Noakes, T., 2016. Carbohydrate intake, obesity, metabolic syndrome and cancer risk? A two-part systematic review and meta-analysis protocol to estimate attributability. BMJ open, 6(1), p.e009301.
Sartorius, K., Sartorius, B., Madiba, T.E. and Stefan, C., 2018. Does high-carbohydrate intake lead to increased risk of obesity? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ open, 8(2), p.e018449.
Vijayakumar, P., Narayanasamy, A. and Vellingiri, B., 2018. Excessive carbohydrate consumption and body mass index: the risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome in Tamil Nadu population. The Journal of Basic and Applied Zoology, 79(1), pp.1-10.