Overweight or obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the point where it can have a negative effect on health. People are generally considered obese when their body mass index (BMI), a measurement obtained by dividing a person's weight by the square of the person's height - despite known allometric inaccuracies - is more than 30 kg/m2; the range 25-30 kg/m2 is defined as overweight. Some East Asian countries use lower values. Obesity is correlated with several diseases and conditions, notably cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer and osteoarthritis. High BMI is a marker of risk, but it has not been proven to be a direct cause, for diseases caused by diet, physical activity and environmental factors. A reciprocal relationship has been found between obesity and depression, with obesity increasing the risk of clinical depression and also depression leading to a greater likelihood of developing obesity.


Obesity has individual, socioeconomic and environmental causes, including diet, physical activity, automation, urbanization, genetic susceptibility, medications, mental disorders, economic policies, endocrine disorders and exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Although most obese individuals attempt to lose weight at some point and are often successful, research shows that maintaining that weight loss over the long term proves to be rare. The reasons for weight gain are not fully understood, but may be decreased energy expenditure combined with an increased biological urge to eat during and after calorie restriction. More studies are needed to determine whether weight cycles and yo-yo dieting contribute to inflammation and disease risk in obese individuals.


Treatment BeterKlinic

BeterKliniek is the clinic for Integrative Medicine that bridges regular and non-regular medicine.

An van Veen (physician) and Michael van Gils (therapist) look for the cause of a condition or disease. That is where the treatment starts otherwise, as people often say, it is 'carrying water to the sea'. We call this cause medicine. Sometimes it is also desirable to treat the symptoms (at the same time). We call this symptom medicine.

Chronic disorders often have their cause in epi- genetics. You can schedule a free informative telephone consultation (phone number 040-7117337 until 1 p.m.) at BeterKliniek to discuss your symptoms so that we can provide you with further advice.