4 Major Health Effects of Obesity

Obesity is not just an issue of how one looks, there are serious health concerns, which are more than persuasive to stop and address how excess fat affects not only the quality of looks, but, how it affects the quality of life in terms of health and life expectancy.

According to the American Heart Association, obesity is a risk factor for:

  • High cholesterol and triglyceride levels
  • Lower “good” HDL cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Type 2 Diabetes
  • Heart Disease
  • Stroke
  • Gallstones
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Respiratory problems

By the way, the above conditions do not spare children. Those who have Type 2 Diabetes also get Hypertension and 3% of those died as a result of kidney complications.

In fact, there are more than 3,500 new diagnosis of obesity related Type 2 diabetes in the age 20 and younger population. This is because 31.8% of teens and children are either overweight or obese. 16.9% are obese, and school age kids account for 1/5 of all obesity cases in children.

Like adults, kids get hypertension, in fact, 45% of those diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes had hypertension, and to make matters worse, 3% developed kidney disease and 9% of those died from their condition within nine years of initial diagnosis.

Type 2 Diabetes

Millions of people suffer from Type 2 diabetes. Of them 80% are either overweight or obese.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention 2/3 of adults in the United States who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes have a BMI of 27 or more. (Click here to calculate your body mass index)

There are two things that can cause this disease to develop. Either your body isn’t able to produce enough insulin or the insulin being produced gets ignored by the cells.

When you are obese insulin is no longer able to do its job which is to control blood sugar. To compensate the body will start to produce more insulin than it needs to to try and control blood sugar levels. Eventually the body will not be able to regulate the blood sugar levels properly, and keep them in normal rane, and the next step is the development of Type 2 diabetes.

Obesity is a double edged sort. Not only can it be the reason for Type 2 diabetes developing, but it can also make it difficult to treat the condition.

Heart Disease

If you are considered overweight or obese your risk for heart disease is much greater than for someone who isn’t.

And because your risk for heart disease is greater, your congestive heart failure, angina, heart attack and other heart issues are also greater. When you are obese it has a negative effect on your blood lipid levels. They increase due to your weight, which, in turn also causes your triglyceride levels to increase and good cholesterol levels to decrease.

When you are obese you have a higher level of bad cholesterol in your system. This is what creates the environment for heart disease to develop.

Hypertension

Hypertension means you have high blood pressure. Your blood pressure is the force of blood that pushes against the walls of your arteries as the heart pumps blood out.

When you have hypertension your risk for heart attack, stroke and even kidney failure greatly increases. The more fat you have on your body the higher your risk for high blood pressure. As your body weight increases so does your blood pressure. Losing just 10 pounds can have a huge impact on your blood pressure. Lose more and it will have an even greater impact.

Reproduction

Being obese can affect just about every part of your health. Even sexuality. Men who are obese can have abnormalities in their reproductive hormones as well as sexual dysfunction and infertility. Two things no man wants to ever hear.

But, it’s not just men that can be affected in this way. Women who are obese can also experience infertility and sexual dysfunction. Women who are obese can also experience other reproductive issues.

When it boils down to it getting your weight under control is vital to your overall health. Start by making simple changes to your diet and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. A simple walk around your neighborhood can have a huge impact on your waistline.

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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