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Description
Weight gain is an increase in body weight. This can be either an increase in muscle mass, fat deposits, or excess fluids such as water. In some cases, weight gain can also occur as a result of developing tumors or other abnormal growths.
Muscle weight gain can occur as a result of bodybuilding, in which muscle size is increased through strength training.
If enough weight is gained by way of increased body fat deposits, one may become overweight.Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat (adipose tissue) than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. As much as 64% of the United States adult population is considered either overweight or obese, and this percentage has increased over the last four decades.[1]
Symptoms
- A noticeably larger, rounder stomach
- Increase in body fat percentage
- Increase in muscle mass
- Increase in body hydration levels
- Increase in breast size
Causes
In regards to adipose tissue increases, a person generally gains fat-related weight by increasing food consumption and/or becoming physically inactive. A study, involving more than 12,000 people tracked over 32 years, found that social networks play a surprisingly powerful role in determining an individual's chances of gaining weight, transmitting an increased risk of becoming obese from wives to husbands, from brothers to brothers and from friends to friends. [2] There are alterations in the body's response to insulin (insulin resistance), a proinflammatory state and an increased tendency to thrombosis (prothrombotic state).[3]
Social Perspective
Though excess weight has been traditionaly seen in contemporary society as "unacceptable", it is becoming more socially acceptable as more and more people become overweight and obese. [4]
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 30 August 2008, at 05:01.
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