Obesity is a pathological phenomenon that indicates an increase in body fat, and among its causes is the consumption of unhealthy foods with a lack of physical activity.
It is considered a common disease of the age and the most dangerous to human health.
Obesity is not an aesthetic problem for adults only, as some people think, but it is also one of the most dangerous and fastest spreading problems of children, and medical research has proven the link
between the occurrence of obesity in childhood and its occurrence in old age, meaning that a fat child often becomes obese in the future of his life!
The risks and harms of obesity
There are many diseases associated with obesity, as it may be accompanied by approximately 47 chronic diseases.
Among the damages of obesity on the body is that it may cause many problems for its victims, starting
from social and psychological problems and ending with a series of uninterrupted diseases such as heart disease, joints, and varicose veins.
Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
We mention below an overview of these diseases, and their close relationship with obesity.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus Type 2) is high blood sugar because the cells do not respond to the
insulin that is produced, in what is known as insulin resistance, and obesity is often the primary factor in type 2 diabetes.
Insulin resistance is common among obese people, and its symptoms include:
frequent urination.
Increased sense of thirst.
Fatigue and general weakness.
Dry mouth.
a headache.
And because one of the disadvantages of obesity increases the chance of developing diabetes, so one of the ways to avoid diabetes is to ensure an ideal weight.
Obesity and cardiovascular disease
Obesity is a direct factor in cardiovascular disease, and this is due to the cause of high blood fats
(such as triglycerides and harmful cholesterol) and a decrease in the good cholesterol.
The damages of obesity increase on the heart and arteries when obesity is concentrated in the chest and
abdomen regions, and it has been shown that the incidence of cardiovascular disease may double to 3 times in obese people than others, and that the likelihood of increased clogged arteries rises when weight is increased by 10% of the normal weight.
Obesity and high blood pressure
Obesity is one of the most important factors affecting blood pressure.
And blood pressure rises with an increase in body weight, and this relationship is positive and
continuous with changing weight, as losing excess weight leads to a decrease in blood pressure,
This relationship exists between blood pressure and obesity at all ages, and in both men and women,
and suffice it to say that the rate of high blood pressure among obese people is up to 3 times the rate among those with normal weights.
Obesity and stroke
It has been proven that there is a direct relationship between an increase in body mass index and an
increased likelihood of stroke, and stroke is one of the biggest causes of disability, and since obesity in various degrees causes a rise in blood pressure and diabetes.
Among the disadvantages of obesity is that it may increase the likelihood of stroke.
Obesity and breathing problems
Obesity is one of the most important causes of sleep apnea, so the more severe the weight gain, the more severe the obstructive apnea.
Since the tissues in the back of the throat are unable to maintain the airway's openness.
Snoring is one of the main symptoms of this syndrome, and it is accompanied by some symptoms, including:
Insomnia.
Increased sleepiness during the day.
Sleep Apnea.
Asthma is also another case of complications and potential obesity damage, as it has been observed to
increase the prevalence of asthma in obese patients, and it was found that 75% of those exposed to an asthma emergency were overweight.
Obesity and bone disease
Obesity affects the bones and joints very greatly.
One of the damages of obesity on the bones is that it may cause joint pain, especially the knee joint, and a person may complain of pain in the pelvic joint or at the back of the spine;
This is as a result of overburdening them, and the person complains of joint pain, especially while walking.
This suffering increases with the increase in weight, due to the occurrence of stiffness of the cartilages of these joints, their erosion, and their chronic inflammation, where the osteoarthritis occurs.
One of the dangers of obesity on the bones also is that an obese person may also complain of foot pain
as a result of overloading the muscles of the foot, which may cause the appearance of flat feet, and he
may also suffer from heel pain due to the presence of some protrusions on the heel bone, which causes pain during Walking.
Also, the damages of obesity in children may include that excess weight and obesity cases in children
may lead to curvature of the bones of the legs, which greatly affects the child's life and prevents him from living his childhood, and it may require surgical intervention to correct it.
Obesity and decreased kidney function
Obesity is also related to kidney disease, as it has been shown that obesity causes significant impairment of kidney function in patients with any of the kidney diseases, as well as obesity causes damage to the kidneys in healthy people.
Obesity and cancer
Obesity increases the risk of developing cancer; Where it was found that 8 - 42% of cancer cases are
accompanied by an increase in the body mass index, and it has also been proven that people who
suffer from obesity are more likely to develop some types of cancer, especially hormonal related ones,
because fat cells produce large amounts of the hormone estrogen, This may boost some types of cancer, such as:
Endometrial cancer.
breast cancer.
Prostate and kidney cancer.
Thyroid, pancreatic, and bladder cancer.
Colon Cancer.
Obesity and venereal diseases
40 - 80% of obese females suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which causes irregular
menstruation and a high incidence of type 2 diabetes, and PCOS is a major cause of infertility in women.
Therefore, given the risks and harms of obesity for women, care must be taken to maintain the woman’s weight within the normal range.
Obesity and pregnancy complications
There are other reproductive complications of obesity that occur during pregnancy and childbirth, as
obesity damages to pregnancy include that it increases the chance of gestational diabetes, fetal macrosomia, dystocia, and an increase in the rates of cesarean deliveries.
Obesity and infertility
Among the harms of obesity to men, that obesity may be associated with impotence and infertility, in
one trial of 110 obese men suffering from erectile dysfunction, and there are no other risk factors such
as diabetes or high blood pressure, where an improvement in sexual function was found with a decrease in the index. body mass.
Finally, it is worth noting that alleviating the burden of these diseases is not an impossible task.
Losing 5-10% of the excess weight is sufficient to reduce the damages of obesity, improve and mitigate
these diseases and their symptoms, but the first and most important is to fight the outbreak of the
obesity epidemic, which is the most successful way to reduce these diseases and reduce the dangers of obesity.
References
D Segula. Complications of obesity in adults: A short review of the literature. Retrieved on the 9th of March, 2020, from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062780/
Ingrid Strauch. Obesity Complications. Retrieved on the 9th of March, 2020, from:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/obesity/guide/complications/
Citywayost.co.uk. How can obesity affect your foot health?. Retrieved on the 9th of March, 2020, from:
https://www.citywayost.co.uk/articles/how-obesity-can-affect-your-foot-health
Susan Sam. Obesity and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Retrieved on the 9th of March, 2020, from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861983/?report=classic
Cancer.gov. Obesity and Cancer. Retrieved on the 9th of March, 2020, from:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/obesity/obesity-fact-sheet
Comments
Post a Comment