Why is Obesity a Health Risk?

Obesity is a serious medical condition.  People who suffer with obesity and overweight, compared to people with normal or healthy weight, are more likely to develop a number of potentially serious health conditions.  These include:

Hypertension, also called high blood pressure. 

High Cholesterol (Dyslipidemia).

Heart disease:   High blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and high sugar are risk factors for heart disease.  Obesity gives stress to the heart to send blood to all the cells of the body.

Stroke:   Stroke is a condition where the blood flow to a part of the brain stops, which causes the brain cells to die.  High Blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels increases the risk for stroke. 

Type 2 diabetes.   It is believed that obesity accounts for 80-85% of the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  Obese people are 40 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people with normal weight.

Gynecological and sexual problems. Obesity may lead to infertility and irregular periods in women and may cause erectile dysfunction in men.

Sleep apnea and breathing problems are more likely to develop in obese people.  Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person has one or more pauses in breathing during sleep.

Osteoarthritis.  Obesity increases the stress placed on weight-bearing joints.  This may cause damage to the cartilages.

Cancers.  Obesity might increase the risk of cancer of the cervix, uterus, endometrium, ovary, breast, rectum, colon, esophagus, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, kidney and prostate.

Digestive problems.  Obesity increases the likelihood that you’ll develop heartburn, gallbladder disease.

Fatty Liver disease.  This occurs when fat builds up in the liver.   This disease often affects people who are overweight or obese and/or diabetic patients and also in middle aged people.

Polycystic ovarian disease or PCOD.

Pregnancy:  Obese women who are pregnant is at increased risk for developing gestational diabetes, high blood pressure during pregnancy that causes problems for both mother and child.

Depression and anxiety.

Low quality of life.

Treatment for Obesity

Bariatric Surgery deals with obesity. Diet, exercise, anti-obesity drugs, behavioural therapy are first line treatments of obesity, but as the success is limited in people with severe obesity, Bariatric Surgery is considered in people struggling with severe obesity. Bariatric Surgery is also called Weight Loss Surgery.

Different Weight Loss Procedures

Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y)

Intragastric Balloon Placement

Tummy Tuck or Abdominoplasty for Hanging Abdomen

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body Mass Index (BMI) is an approximate measure of whether someone is overweight or underweight. BMI of a person is calculated by dividing the weight of the person in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.