Exogenous vs. Endogenous Obesity

The entire world is in the midst of an obesity pandemic, and in the United States alone, only 25% of the adult population is considered a healthy weight. Almost 33% of adult Americans are overweight, and 42% are suffering from obesity, with many experiencing serious metabolic medical conditions because of their weight. 

Many people believe that being overweight is caused by poor lifestyle choices or a lack of willpower, but that is not always true. A person's lifestyle can and often does influence how much they weigh and contribute to obesity, but there are also medical conditions, hormone problems, genetics, and other underlying issues that can promote the development of obesity. 

Today, we are going to look at exogenous obesity and endogenous obesity, which are the two different categories of obesity that were created to help doctors determine and record causes of weight gain and develop effective treatments. 

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What Is Exogenous Obesity?

Exogenous obesity is mostly the result of an individual's behavior and lifestyle, and eating more calories than their body needs. They overeat, and the excess calories are not burned off through activity and are stored as fat. Exogenous obesity is mainly caused by outside influences like overeating or eating unhealthy foods and not getting enough exercise.

Doctors use something called the ICD-10 to classify diseases and conditions, which helps with billing and treatment planning. For exogenous obesity, the ICD-10 official code is E66.0, which would be used by a doctor to help make notes on a patient's medical records to indicate lifestyle-related obesity. 

You may also have heard the term “morbid exogenous obesity,” which, while a bit of an outdated term, means the case of obesity is severe and may cause serious health problems like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease. 

What Is Endogenous Obesity?

Endogenous obesity is caused by something going on inside the body that is impacting their ability to lose weight. It is not about how much they eat or how active or sedentary they are, this type of obesity is often caused by hormone problems or an underlying medical condition. 

Issues with your thyroid gland, adrenal glands, hormone imbalances, or certain genetic conditions can lead to weight gain and endogenous obesity. This type of obesity can develop even if the individual leads a healthy lifestyle, eats a healthy diet, and gets regular exercise; they can still struggle with their weight and obesity because of how their body responds to the strategies they are using to reach or maintain a healthy weight. 

How Underlying Conditions Can Affect Your Weight

Your body is designed to keep you alive during feast or famine, and your metabolism is an intricate and complex system that is made up of many parts that are supposed to work together to accomplish this. When any of these parts gets out of sync or stops functioning properly, it can affect your whole body and prevent your metabolism from doing its job the way it is supposed to. This can cause you to gain weight and also hinder your weight loss efforts.

Eating unhealthy foods and being exposed to chemicals in our water, personal care and cleaning products, pesticides, and other obesogens can damage the delicate balance inside our bodies that is supposed to help us maintain a healthy weight. They wreak havoc on our hormone balance, cause the malfunction of our organs, which prevents them from performing their best, and, to put it simply, break our metabolism.

Our bodies attempt to adjust for these hormonal changes or a drop in calorie intake by slowing down how fast they burn calories and begin to promote fat storage, making it even harder to lose weight. 

Also, things like not getting enough sleep and having an abundance of unmanaged stress can cause your body to basically malfunction and release too many or not enough of certain hormones that are necessary to help control your appetite, curb cravings, and help you burn calories to provide you with the energy you need to go about your daily tasks instead of building fat cells.

Losing weight on your own when your metabolism is damaged is virtually impossible and requires some type of medical intervention. Historically, the only type of intervention available was bariatric surgery, which has a complex qualification process, elevated risk factors, and a lengthy recovery. Thankfully, today, we have experts like Dr. Steven Batash and access to endoscopic procedures and medications that can help streamline our metabolism and enable us to reach a healthy weight. 

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What Are The Similarities When Comparing Endogenous vs. Exogenous Obesity?

Both types of obesity involve the accumulation of excess body fat that can lead to metabolic health risks like high blood pressure, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, etc. Both endogenous and exogenous obesity not only affect your health, but also your energy level and your self-esteem. Both types of obesity need care and support, not shame, blame, or the spread of more misinformation. 

What Is The Best Way To Combat Endogenous vs. Exogenous Obesity?

The best way to overcome the challenges related to combating any type of obesity is to work with a qualified doctor who has expertise in treating obesity with medical intervention. A doctor like Dr. Steven Batash at Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center in NYC can help you understand which type of obesity, endogenous vs. exogenous, you may be dealing with and the best way to treat it. 

Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center Can Help You Overcome Obesity

Whether you are dealing with exogenous or endogenous obesity, the experts at Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center can create a personalized plan that will help you overcome the specific challenges you are facing and help your future weight loss efforts succeed.

Dr. Batash offers medical intervention and lifestyle guidance that is safe and effective and can help balance your hormones, optimize your metabolism, and promote weight loss. Endoscopic weight loss procedures like Suture Sculpt ESG, the Orbera or Spatz3 balloon, nutritional guidance, and education about lifestyle changes and the complexities of weight loss are all safe and effective strategies offered at Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center. 

Set up a consultation today to learn more about how the best weight loss team in NYC can help you finally reach your goals and improve your health. 

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