Obesity

Being too fat is a problem for a lot of us. It’s the most common issue around eating that causes ill health, physically and mentally.

It is usually caused by eating too much and not exercising enough.

There are a few physical illnesses that cause obesity but these are not common in young people. If you are putting on a lot of weight quickly it is important to ask your doctor whether there is some physical illness causing this.

Some prescribed drugs can cause weight gain, and others, weight loss. If you are taking any prescription drugs you should check this out with your doctor. Occasionally, people with depression can overeat as part of their depressive symptoms (although it is much more common for people with depressive illnesses to eat too little).

Being overweight can cause a lot of unhappiness. People get teased, feel bad, think they are rubbish and can become very depressed about it.

If you are significantly overweight it can feel like climbing a mountain to get your weight down. So you have to do it one bit at a time. This means you shouldn’t get miserable if you don't initially lose weight by the stone. There are unhealthy physical effects of obesity but you should lose weight in a sensible way over time as the physical effects can take some time to do real damage. You should not just cut out food altogether.