Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity:

 

Being overweight or obese isn’t a negligible problem. It greatly raises the hazard in people of all ages especially in adults for many diseases and bad health conditions.

Health Problems due to Overweight (in Adults):

1. Heart Disease
Heart disease likely to happen when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the inner walls of the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to your heart. In result Plaque narrows these arteries, which reduces blood flow to your heart. And consequently chances for having heart attack and heart disease get higher as your body mass index (BMI) increases. Congestive heart failure can also be caused due to Obesity; it’s a serious condition in which the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs.

2. Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is a very chronic ailment and is a leading cause of early death, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and blindness. It is a health situation in which blood sugar levels are too high. Normally, the body makes insulin to move the blood sugar into cells where it’s used. In type 2 diabetes, the cells don’t respond enough to the insulin that’s made. Research shows that more than 80 percent of people with type 2 Diabetes are overweight or obese.

3. Hypertension / High Blood Pressure
High Blood Pressure is a situation in which the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is too high. Chances for having high blood pressure are greater if a person overweight or obese.

4. Reproductive Problems
Obesity can cause menstrual irregularity and infertility in women.

 

5. High amount and Abnormal Blood Fats
If you’re overweight or obese, you have a greater chance of having abnormal levels of blood fats. These include high amounts of triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (a fat-like substance often called “bad” cholesterol), and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (often called “good” cholesterol). Abnormal levels of these blood fats are a risk for heart disease.

6. Metabolic Syndrome
This is the name for a group of risk factors linked to overweight and obesity that raise your chance for heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes and stroke. A person can develop any one of these risk factors by itself, but they tend to occur together. Metabolic syndrome occurs when a person has at least three of these heart disease risk factors:

    * A large waistline. This is also called abdominal obesity or “having an apple shape.” Having extra fat in the waist area is a greater risk factor for heart disease than having extra fat in other parts of the body, such as on the hips.
    * Abnormal blood fat levels, including high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol.
    * Higher than normal blood pressure.
    * Higher than normal fasting blood sugar levels.

7. Cancer
Being overweight or obese raises the risk for colon, breast, endometrial, and gallbladder cancers.

8. Osteoarthritis
This is a common joint problem of the knees, hips, and lower back. It occurs when the tissue that protects the joints wears away. Extra weight can put more pressure and wear on joints, causing pain.

9. Sleep Apnea
This condition causes a person to stop breathing for short periods during sleep. A person with sleep apnea may have more fat stored around the neck. This can make the breathing airway smaller so that it’s hard to breathe.
10. Stroke
Fatty deposits in arteries that form a blood clot are likely to get developed due to overweight or obese situation. If the clot is close to your brain, it can block the flow of blood and oxygen and cause a stroke. The risk of having a stroke rises as BMI increases.

11. Gallstones
These are hard pieces of stone-like material that form in the gallbladder. They’re mostly made of cholesterol and can cause abdominal or back pain. People who are overweight or obese have a greater chance of having gallstones. Also, being overweight may result in an enlarged gallbladder that may not work properly.