Obesity is a term that means you weigh at least 20% more than what is considered a normal weight for your height. If you’re carrying too many loads, you face a higher-than-average risk of a whopping 50 different health problems. These health conditions include the nation’s leading causes of death:
- Heart disease and stroke
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Some Cancers
- Gallbladder disease and gallstones
- Osteoarthritis
- Gout
- Breathing problems, such as sleep apnea (when a person stops breathing for short episodes during sleep) and asthma
Perhaps even more compelling is the strong link between excess weight and depression, because this common mood disorder can have a profound, negative impact on your daily life.
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| Obesity and Your Health |
Being overweight or obese isn't a cosmetic problem. These conditions just greatly increase your risk for the health problems. But not everyone who is obese has all of those problems. The risk rises if you have a family history of one of those conditions.
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| Obesity related Health Problems |
Overweight and Obesity-Related Health Problems
Coronary Heart Disease
As your body mass index rises, so does your risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. Plaque can narrow or block the coronary arteries and reduce blood flow to the heart muscle. This can cause angina or a heart attack.
Obesity also can lead to heart failure. This is a serious condition in which your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs.
The good news is that losing a small amount of weight can reduce your chances of developing heart disease or a stroke. Losing 5%-10% of your weight is proven to lower your chance of developing heart disease.
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| Obesity cause CHD and Stroke |
Stroke
Being overweight or obese can lead to a buildup of plaque in your arteries. Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture, causing a blood clot to form.
If the clot is close to your brain, it can block the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain and cause a stroke. The risk of having a stroke rises as BMI increases.
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| High Blood and Stroke |
High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways. Your chances of having high blood pressure are greater if you're overweight or obese.
Type 2 Diabetes
Most people who have type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Diabetes is a disease in which the body's blood glucose, or blood sugar, level is too high. Normally, the body breaks down food into glucose and then carries it to cells throughout the body. The cells use a hormone called insulin to turn the glucose into energy.
In type 2 diabetes, the body's cells don't use insulin properly. At first, the body reacts by making more insulin. Over time, however, the body can't make enough insulin to control its blood sugar level. Diabetes is a leading cause of early death, CHD, stroke, kidney disease, and blindness.
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| Obesity and diabetes |
You can cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by losing weight, eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep, and exercising more. Becoming more active may also reduce your need for diabetes medication if you are diabetic.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.
You can develop any one of these risk factors by itself, but they tend to occur together. A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is made if you have at least three of the following risk factors:
- A large waistline. This is called abdominal obesity or "having an apple shape." Having extra fat in the waist area is a greater risk factor for CHD than having extra fat in other parts of the body, such as on the hips.
- A higher than normal triglyceride level (or you're on medicine to treat high triglycerides).
- A lower than normal HDL cholesterol level (or you're on medicine to treat low HDL cholesterol).
- Higher than normal blood pressure (or you're on medicine to treat high blood pressure).
- Higher than normal fasting blood sugar (or you're on medicine to treat diabetes).3
Gout is a disease that affects the joints. It happens when you have too much uric acid in your blood. The extra uric acid can form crystals that deposit in the joints. Gout is more common in overweight people. The more you weight, the more likely you are to get gout.
Over the short term, sudden weight changes may lead to a flare-up of gout. If you have a history of gout, check with your doctor for the best way to lose weight.
Cancer
Cancers of the colon, breast (after menopause), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), kidney, and esophagus are linked to obesity. Some studies have also reported links between obesity and cancers of the gallbladder, ovaries, and pancreas.
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| Fatty liver can cause liver cancer |
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition that most often affects the knee, hip, or lower back. Carrying extra weights places extra pressure on these joints and wears away the cartilage (tissue cushioning the joints) that normally protects them.
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| Obesity cause Osteoarthritis |
Weight loss can ease stress on the knees, hips, and lower back and may improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.
A person who has sleep apnea may have more fat stored around the neck. This can narrow the airway, making it hard to breathe.
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| Can cause Death while sleeping |
Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome
Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is a breathing disorder that affects some obese people. In OHS, poor breathing results in too much carbon dioxide (hypoventilation) and too little oxygen in the blood (hypoxemia).
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| Hypoventilation Syndrome |
OHS can lead to serious health problems and may even cause death.
Reproductive Problems
Obesity can cause menstrual issues and infertility in women as well as sperm quality in men.
Gallbladder Disease
Gallstones are hard pieces of stone-like material that form in the gallbladder. Gallstones can cause stomach or back pain.They're mostly made of cholesterol. People who are overweight or obese are at increased risk of having gallstones. Also, being overweight may result in an enlarged gallbladder that doesn't work well.
Ironically, weight loss itself, particularly rapid weight loss or loss of a large amount of weight, can make you more likely to get gallstones. Losing weight at a rate of about 1 pound a week is less likely to cause gallstones.
Overweight and Obesity-Related Health Problems in Children and Teens
Overweight and obesity also increase the health risks for children and teens. Type 2 diabetes once was rare in Malaysian children, but an increasing number of children are developing the disease.
Also, overweight children are more likely to become overweight or obese as adults, with the same disease risks.
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| Obesity in Children is getting more serious |
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