Health problems caused by obesity
The international medical community is raising serious concerns about the obesity epidemic in the world. Excessive body weight is a relatively recent problem that results from eating higher calorie food, lack of physical activity, and a poor environment. Yet, there is enough scientific evidence to claim that obesity can significantly influence a person’s physical and mental health. Overall, obesity can cause severe health disorders that can turn into chronic ones, reduced life quality, lower mobility, and death. Here’s what everyone needs to know about obesity and the disease it can provoke.
Obesity and Its Causes
Obesity is diagnosed when one’s body mass index (BMI) exceeds the healthy weight to squared height ratio. Usually, it happens when the BMI shows 30kg/m2 or higher. The BMI helps calculate a healthy weight by dividing weight (kg) by height squared (m2). If the results are 30 kg/m2 or higher, a person is outside a healthy body weight range. Overall, obesity is defined by an extensive amount of body fat.
Currently, obesity is frequently diagnosed among adults and children. Thus, the risk of obesity has no age limits. There are common reasons why people may become overweight to the point where it becomes a health risk. Here are some of these causes:
- lifestyle (unbalanced diet, lack of exercise);
- genetics;
- environmental factors;
- mental health disorders;
- medications;
- other health conditions.
Some factors lie in individuals’ control, whereas others are above our limits or happen due to more serious health issues. For example, mental disorders like stress or depression can cause weight gain. Some medication or other chronic illnesses can also result in gain weight to the point of a patient becoming obese.
Such cases show that unprecedented weight gain should better be investigated without delay. A simple diet won’t cure depression that triggers weight gain. Hence, in the given situation, it’s better to look for the causes than deal with repercussions.
More often, though, people with obesity gain weight slowly, as it comes as the result of their life choices, such as poor diet and lack of physical activity. Gaining weight happens whenever a person regularly receives more calories than they burn with exercise.
Typical Health Risks Due to Obesity
Obesity can also be the starting point of a number of severe health problems. Thus, excessive body weight can put a person at higher risk for developing a whole range of serious disorders. Let’s see the top seven such health risks.
Type 2 Diabetes
The higher your weight is, the harder it is for your body to produce insulin. This hormone is responsible for the healthy processing of sugar and fat after each meal. People with obesity tend to eat more high-calorie food, full of high fat and sugar. But excessive weight prevents them from processing their meals as it was intended. As a result, most people with obesity develop type 2 diabetes, also called insulin-resistance diabetes.
Fortunately, at this point, a body can still release the hormone. Therefore, people can learn to manage this disorder, live with it, and even reverse it in some cases. To put this illness into remission, one needs to lose as much weight as possible after learning about the diagnosis.
High blood pressure
Hypertension can be a significant life threat for people with obesity. Usually, the blood pressure rises along with the weight increase. Hence, the more excessive weight one may have, the higher their chances of struggling with hypertension. It means that one’s blood travels in blood vessels with more pressure, exhausting the vessels and organs. Living with chronic high pressure may interfere with healthy organ work, damaging them and resulting in an increased risk of heart attack, kidney failure or other diseases, and strokes.
Heart disease
There is always a risk of heart disease. Most doctors always warn people with obesity about the chances of having an abnormal heart rhythm or experiencing a heart attack due to excessive weight. Overall, high blood fat, cholesterol, and sugar, along with hypertension, put additional pressure on heart work.
Kidney disease
Extra weight affects the work of our kidneys. This organ is responsible for filtering our blood from any product waste that we put in our bodies. More weight complicates kidneys’ work, forcing them to put extra effort into performing their job. Eventually, the increased pressure can lead to kidney failure. Thus, a patient will require dialysis.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea stands for a sleep-related breathing disorder. Thus, a person with obesity has a higher chance of suffering from irregular breathing during sleep. Usually, it is when a person can skip a breath or stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. It’s a life-threatening condition that can lead to death during sleep.
Osteoarthritis
Excessive body mass will eventually affect joints. Osteoarthritis can cause swelling and pain, especially when you move. Such a disorder is caused by the extra pressure on the joints (on knees especially) due to excessive weight. Thus, people may experience a decrease in mobility due to severe pain.
Metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is not a single disease but a combination of several previously mentioned disorders. Thus, this medical condition develops due to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excessive blood sugar levels, and an abnormal amount of weight in the waste area. Mainly, this syndrome is diagnosed among people with obesity. The disease progress can result in stroke, heart attack, and diabetes.
How to deal with obesity
A number of the health risks mentioned above will resolve after significant weight loss and bringing some lifestyle changes. This way, people with obesity who strive to resolve their health issues should return to their healthy weight rates. The calculation of your BMI and a consultation from a physician should determine how much weight that must be and how much time one has to lose it. A healthy diet and increased physical activity are the two things to concentrate on in the weight loss battle.
