**1. Introduction**

Obesity is a chronic medical condition on the rise almost on the global epidemic level, which negatively impacts the health of people. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as the accumulation of excessive fat in the body creating risks for a healthy life [1]. In the year 2015, it was estimated that around 603.7 million adults were obese worldwide and then recently in 2018, it shows that the rate has increased and now 650 million adults suffer from obesity and 1.9 billion adults are overweight [2]. Studies have also shown that in the past 25 years, the prevalence of obesity has doubled in 73 countries globally [3]. In the last 30 years the rate of obesity has doubled amongst adults and children, and tripled amongst the adolescents [4]. In India, more than 135 million people are affected by obesity, prevalence rate of obesity and central obesity varies from 11.8% to 31.3% and 16.9% to 36.3% respectively according to the ICMR-INDIAB study conducted in 2015 [4].

Obesity is increasing globally in epidemic proportions over the past 50 years and has become a public burden with profound impacts on mortality, morbidity and cost of living, and thus has been recognised as a diseased state [4–6]. Therefore, to

understand the general public's standing when it comes to health the commonly used metric is the Body Mass Index (BMI) for defining anthropometric height/ weight characteristics in adults and for categorizing them into groups. BMI basically is the ratio between body weight and the square of body height which is commonly used to assess bodily mass in epidemiological studies, since it corrects for height [7]. BMI primarily represents an individual's fatness, along with the risk factors for the prevalence of various health issues. This survey uses BMI to categorize as well as decipher the prevalence of obesity amongst the 205 individuals who participated, due to its wide acceptance in defining specific categories of body mass as a health issue [3, 7]. Being overweight is defined as the BMI being equal to or higher than 25 kg/m<sup>2</sup> . From the studies, it has been revealed that the mean BMI is increasing by the years and they are skewing towards the right, showcasing a hasty increase of obesity [8]. Multiple Factors create a chronic positive energy balance which leads to obesity. This excess energy gets converted to triglyceride that gets stored in the adipose tissue depots and increases body fat accumulation and weight gain [1].

Obesity rates are rapidly increasing, especially amongst those with low incomes and education levels, suggesting that the gap among socioeconomic strata for obesity rates may be closing [9]. Consequences of leading sedentary life and poor diet leads to obesity, which now is nothing short of a global health hazard. Studies have even shown from both cross-sectional and longitudinal ways that consuming more of Western or highly processed diet over Mediterranean-style diet leads one to develop depression, anxiety and obesity [10]. At same time, sometimes genetics can also play a role in gaining weight. It has been observed that one subjects show resistance towards adipocyte secreted hormone leptin; this hormone opposes fat accumulation [7].

Hypertension is closely associated with the prevalence, pathophysiology, and morbidity of obesity and bears a positive linear correlation with BMI [3]. Heightened inflammatory activity leads to vascular dysfunction, coronary and cardiovascular diseases, and development of hypertension in patients suffering from severe obesity. Therefore, Obesity has been identified as the most important determinant of hypertension [3]. High sodium intake causes increased renal sodium reabsorption along with the combination of amplified renin-angiotensin aldosterone and sympathetic nervous system activity in obesity. All these leads up to hypertension and extracellular volume expansion in obesity [3, 7]. It has been estimated that worldwide over 300 million people suffer from depression and over 650 million are affected by obesity (2019).

Mental health disorders, mood and anxiety disorders are frequently co-occurring with obesity. Studies suggest that exposure to childhood trauma generally contributes in developing obesity as one grows older, especially in women and that rates of obesity are much higher in people who suffer from problems. A recent cross-sectional study also found developing anxiety due to excess weight and vice versa are quite extensive [11, 12].

The relation of obesity and PCOS is intertwined, where obesity is taken under consideration for the pathophysiological cascade of PCOS through 2 major pathways- insulin resistance & hyperandrogenism at the same time the increase in visceral fat due to PCOS can lead to obesity [6]. PCOS is considered a multifactorial disorder with various genetic, endocrine, hormonal alterations like hyperandrogenaemia and environmental abnormalities [13]. During infancy and early childhood, a change in the pre- and postnatal weight gain leads to central obesity, which if not taken under control can develop into polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) after reaching adult height [14]. Women with PCOS have higher normal serum concentrations of androgen and show more clinically significant insomnia symptoms & daytime sleepiness in comparison to women without PCOS. Adolescents with PCOS *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*

and obesity have extremely poor actigraphy-estimated sleep, sleep efficiency and show longer sleep onset latency [15]. Thus, obese individuals are at a higher risk of developing sleep apnea, where the airway gets partially or completely obstructed while sleeping [6]. These obstructions in the night-time sleep leads to daytime somnolence, morning headache, systemic hypertension, which circles back and leads to hypertension and cardiac problems [9].

In this survey we also consider women above the age of 45 and women usually experience menopause during that time frame (42–50) which definitely alters the body composition, which usually is an increase in total and abdominal fat mass due to oestrogen deficiency. Usually, the average weight gain ranges between 2.2 kgs to 4.1 kgs during this period. Independent of weight modifications, the menopause has been shown to be associated with major changes in body composition and fat distribution [16].

### **2. Methods and materials**

Interview surveys include questions on self-reported weight and height, which have been used to monitor trends over time. A total of 205 subjects participated in the study. Following convention, we defined prevalence of overweight and obesity (in adults (aged >18 years) overweight categorised as BMI ≥25 to <30 kg/m<sup>2</sup> and obesity as BMI ≥30 kg/m<sup>2</sup> ; in children, classification is based on the International Obesity Task Force [IOTF] definition; appendix). We did a systematic literature review with search criteria as those pertaining to our subjects under consideration. We identified all articles reporting prevalence of overweight and obesity based on BMI [5]. In totality data was collected from 120 female subjects and 85 male subjects with their consent. The age group ranged between 15 to 70 years of age. A few above 70-year-old subjects volunteered in this study as well. Data regarding their eating & sleeping habits and their mental & physical state on a day-to-day basis. A special interest was taken to understand the relation between mental and physical disorder, and their association with eating patterns as well as weight gain. The subjects hailed from Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore in India. The students were mostly high school and college going individuals, whilst the rest hailed from either corporate sectors (private companies) or government services. Few subjects were also hailing from impoverished backgrounds who have to work as labourers to earn a living. The height was recorded in either centimeters or foot whilst collecting data and converted into centimeters during tabulations. Although all the readings of height were converted into metre so that the BMI value could be calculated. On the other hand, the weight was collected, tabulated as well as implemented in the formula in the form of kilogram units. In our analysis, we recorded a systematic bias, but this bias is greater in some regions than in others. Self-reported weights for women in some countries tend to be under-reported and self-reported heights for men tend to be over-reported. However, self-reported weights and heights are a major source of information for studies of obesity [5]. The body mass index (BMI), calculated by dividing the body weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters, is a simple metric used to indicate overall body fatness [17]. WHO defines a normal BMI range as 18.5 to 24.9, whereas a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 is considered to be overweight, and a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 is classified as obese, with severe obesity defined as a BMI ≥40 kg/m2 [1, 2]. The daily diet of the subjects were segregated on the basis of them either being vegetarians or non-vegetarians, if they consumed dairy products, and if they had breakfast in the mornings. Breakfast is considered the important meal of the day and research findings have proven that skipping the most important meal of the day can lead to weight gain and a slew of other problems like elevated blood

pressure, higher levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, gastric problems etc. Another important factor which was considered and given importance was to sleep and the gap between the subject's last meal and going to sleep. A 7-to-8-hour continuous sleep in the night is an extremely crucial factor for a proper functioning of the human body. Studies have shown that when people don't get enough sleep, they have increased levels of a hunger hormone called ghrelin and decreased levels of the satiety/fullness hormone called leptin, which could lead to overeating and weight gain. Also, according to the experts it's crucial that we keep an interval of 3 hours between our dinner and sleep as it allows your body time to digest your food so you're not up at night with an upset stomach, indigestion or heartburn.

Most of the fast food contains a large amount of sugar, fats and carbs and less minerals and vitamins. They are energy dense food which means that one consumes large amounts of unhealthy calories in the shape of fast food which leads to weight gain and ultimately obesity. The frequency of fast food in a month is an important factor in deciding the reason behind rapid weight gain. The frequency has been recorded in terms of 1–2, 3–4, 5–6 and more than 6 (>6) times in a month. The cheapest foods are those containing high levels of fat and sugar. Thus, the way to get the most calories for the least money is to eat a diet that is high in fat and sugar [9].

Consuming water, at least 4 litres in a day is impertinent with mental and physical wellbeing. Drinking water helps in fighting infections all over your body by flushing out toxins, maintaining homeostasis and also flushing the wastes being generated by the body constantly. It's especially good for getting rid of and preventing urine infections and kidney stones. We have collected the data regarding consuming water in the form of cups as the standard measurement, where 4 cups of water are equivalent of a bottle of 1 litre water.

Studies have shown that whilst excessively working out to lose weight is not a beneficial method, as diets play more important role than exercise in maintaining body weight, still exercise is extremely important to build stamina, muscle mass, improve immunity, endurance, and keep the vital organs on high functionality. The burning of calories through physical activity, combined with reducing the number of calories you eat, creates a "calorie deficit" that results in weight loss. The record of exercise is more to understand if people devote even an hour of their day to properly exercise where most of today's work takes place by sitting in front of the computer monitor. The data on exercise was collected on 5 basis- Walking, Cardio regime, Weight's training, playing sports or none of the physical activities at all. Finally, the mental health disorders as well as hereditary syndromes were also recorded, as they play an important role in the overall wellbeing of a person. The leading disorders kept in mind were blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, thyroid, cholesterol and PCOS. There is a confirmed relationship between obesity and PCOS. Obesity is considered a factor in the pathophysiological cascade of PCOS through 2 major pathways: IR & hyperandrogenism. However, obesity can also be considered a complication of PCOS, considering the presence of increased visceral fat in PCOS [6]. The mental disorders considered in this study were Hypertension/stress, Depression, Anxiety and Sleep Apnea. We did not conduct an elaborate study on the eating patterns in individuals with Bulimia or Anorexia as it was a general public survey and provides scope for further research.

#### **3. Result**

The normal BMI defined by WHO ranges normal as 18.5 to 24.9, whereas a BMI ≥25 kg/m<sup>2</sup> is considered to be overweight, and a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 is classified as

obese, with severe obesity defined as a BMI ≥40 kg/m<sup>2</sup> [1, 2]. In the National Family Health Survey's report, it is revealed that the population of obese have doubled in the past decade.

**Figure 1** shows that from the information collected of the 205 individuals which were self-reported, we can deduce that around 48.78% individuals were harbouring abnormal weight, considering that BMI is directly linked to the body weight and not the fat content in the body. Being underweight also falls under the category of abnormal BMI. Under the abnormal BMI category of men and women, around 11.7% were underweight, 21.66% were overweight and 12.37% were Obese. Although the number of women were higher to men under the underweight and obese category, the populous of men under the overweight category was way higher, by almost a 7.5% hike.

Exercises were divided into four categories after determining that the subjects selected were practising these routines primarily. According to **Tables 1** and **2** the data collected shows that 53.65% of the populous exercised by walking for at least 30 minutes, around 20% of them took part in cardio exercises and 11.21% visited the gymnasium to be properly guided by a trainer, who helped them with weights and endurance training along with cardio exercises. Just about 3.9% of the populous practised Yoga, which was observed in individuals who were ageing between the 51 to 70 range. It was also revealed that just 63.9% of the populous were getting an adequate sleep of a minimum 7 hours. Only 58.33% of the women in this study got adequate sleep. Most of the women suffering from sleep apnea or who received inadequate sleep in the night usually were agonized by High blood pressure or Hypothyroidism if they were above 36 years old, whereas the women between the age range of 15 to 35 years couldn't sleep suffered from PCOS, hormonal disbalances and Hypertension.

In order, to understand the underlying relation between mental health and obesity. **Figure 2** shows that around 30.58% of male and 44.16% of female suffer from Hypertension, almost all the men and women who had developed high blood pressure and hypertension were either overweight or obese and the people having low pressures were mostly underweight. Thus, in the study around 10.73% of the populous were suffering from either high or low blood pressures. Just about 6.82%

**Figure 1.**

*Graphical representation of the percentage of subjects having normal and abnormal BMI values. The abnormal BMI have been further divided into people who are underweight, overweight and obese (n = 205).*


#### *Psychology and Pathophysiological Outcomes of Eating*


#### *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*


#### *Psychology and Pathophysiological Outcomes of Eating*


#### *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*



#### *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*


## *Psychology and Pathophysiological Outcomes of Eating*


#### *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*

**Table 1.**

*Compilation of all the information collected by Females in the study (n =*

 *120).*


#### *Psychology and Pathophysiological Outcomes of Eating*


#### *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*


#### *Psychology and Pathophysiological Outcomes of Eating*


#### *Relations between Dietary Habits, Lifestyle and Leading Obesity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98307*


#### *Psychology and Pathophysiological Outcomes of Eating*


**Table 2.** *Compilationofallthe*

 *information*

 *collected by Males in the study (n = 85).*
