Preventing obesity: Be alert to signs of weight gain and understand when it occurs.

**Preventing Obesity**

To prevent obesity, healthy individuals should keep the following three points in mind, excluding any underlying medical conditions.

**I. Be alert to signs of weight gain**

There are always signs beforehand. When obesity is not yet obvious, the following signs often appear. If you can be alert to "catch" them, you may be able to prevent it in time.

(1) Easily fatigued: Compared with the past, I feel tired easily recently. I get out of breath and sweat profusely after a little activity. Unless I have a disease, it is very likely that obesity is quietly developing.

(2) Becoming lazy: A person who is usually diligent becomes lazy, listless, or feels that he is willing but unable. If there is no illness, obesity may also occur.

(3) Excessive sleepiness: Sleeping very soundly, wanting to sleep even after sleeping for a sufficient amount of time, and being unable to be woken up, or yawning frequently, with dull eyes, as if always sleepy. If excessive fatigue is ruled out, obesity may be on the way.

(4) Fear of movement: People who love sports gradually stop loving sports and even feel that participating in fitness activities is a burden or trouble, unless there is illness or injury, or it is a "signal" of obesity.

(5) Love to eat: Increased appetite and constant mouthing. As long as there is no hyperthyroidism, diabetes or other diseases that increase appetite, it indicates that obesity is coming.

(6) Love of drinking: Water can hinder the burning of body fat and increase fat storage. If you especially love drinking water, as long as you don't have diabetes insipidus or diabetes, you can also gain weight.

**II. Timing of Weight Gain**

It's not easy to gain weight at every stage of a long life.

Most people gain weight after puberty, postpartum, or in middle age, and occasionally during menopause.

If these opportunities are seized and prevented, obesity will have no chance to develop.

So, why is it easier to gain weight during these periods? Because:

(1) After puberty.

Generally speaking, most preschool children are relatively thin, especially as they approach puberty, when their height increases rapidly but their weight gain does not keep up, so they do not become fat.

After entering puberty, the ovaries and testes in the human body become abnormally active, and the secretion of sex hormones is vigorous.

Testosterone, the main sex hormone in men, promotes the synthesis of muscle from protein in the body, leading to weight gain and a stronger, more robust physique.

However, estrogen, a woman's main sex hormone, significantly influences fat metabolism, leading to a substantial increase in subcutaneous fat content.

Therefore, when girls enter high school, coupled with their tendency to become quieter and less active, they are more likely to gain weight.

(2) Postpartum.

Pregnancy causes significant changes in a woman's hormone metabolism, which can easily promote fat storage.

Furthermore, during pregnancy, the uterus gradually enlarges and the abdominal muscles expand. After childbirth, the abdominal wall relaxes and the abdominal muscles lose elasticity, making it easier for fat to be stored.

In addition, excessive nutrition before and after childbirth, coupled with reduced physical activity, inevitably leads to obesity.

(3) Middle age.

In middle age, the ovaries and testes reach their peak function, and sex hormones remain at a relatively high level. These hormones directly affect the metabolism of proteins and fats in the human body, leading to weight gain.

However, most women experience a weight gain phase after pregnancy, so weight gain in middle age may not be as noticeable.

Conversely, it is more common for middle-aged men to gain weight.

The main reason is the sudden decrease in exercise.

(4) Menopause.

Women aged 45-55 and men aged 50-60 may also gain weight during this period.

Although the pituitary gland, which functions as an endocrine gland of the ovaries or testes, may secrete large amounts of gonadotropins as usual, disrupting the balance of sex hormones in the body, some people may experience symptoms such as sweating, headaches, numbness in the hands, and mood changes, known as menopausal syndrome. It can also affect fat metabolism, causing temporary disorders, which can lead to obesity.