Serious Health Risks Linked To Obesity
Maintaining a reasonable weight is not always easy, but is critically important for individuals to stay healthy in the long run. Individuals who are overweight or obese often find themselves facing numerous health issues, all of which impact their day-to-day living. By letting weight get out of control, conducting normal activities becomes more of a challenge and fighting off numerous diseases and disorders becomes the norm.
Avoid these major health risks by committing to a healthy lifestyle today.
High Blood Pressure
The more fat tissue an individual's body has, the more nutrients are needed in order to sustain these tissues. This means the heart and blood vessels must work harder at circulating more oxygen throughout the body in hopes of keeping everything running properly. This increases pressure on the artery walls, which inhibits the body’s ability to pump blood efficiently. Heart rate is then increased and all of this extra work will cause an individual's blood pressure to reach unhealthy levels.
Reducing sodium and alcohol intake is known for helping blood pressure decrease. Individuals should replace them with calcium, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are great for keeping their blood pressure within a healthy range. Healthy eating in general, of course, is another key to this.
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Gout
Gout is a very common type of arthritis that leads to substantial amounts of pain and tenderness within the affected joints as well as redness along the skin above the joints. Some of the health conditions that increase an individual's likelihood of developing this form of arthritis include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes, all of which can occur when they are obese. As such, obesity is heavily linked to this form of arthritis and is particularly common among individuals who haven't received treatment for their obesity. Obese individuals tend to develop gout at a younger age than normal.
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Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea and other sleep-related conditions are commonly linked to obesity. Extra fat around the neck puts added pressure on the tissues in an individual's throat, thus obstructing airways. This causes snoring, irregular sleep schedules, and sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can mean individuals experience points in the night where their breathing completely stops for risky lengths of time. This makes sleep patterns irregular and may cause mood swings, headaches, and incessant fatigue. Shedding off some pounds and getting on a regular sleep schedule are two ways to get back energy and gain a more optimistic view on life.
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Infertility For Women
Weight often plays a large role for women who are struggling to get pregnant. When a woman is living a fit lifestyle, her body functions more efficiently as a whole, meaning ovulation and menstrual cycles are more scheduled. Overweight women tend to have more irregular menstrual cycles, thus hindering them from getting pregnant as easily.
Getting pregnant while obese often means increased risks throughout the pregnancy as well. For example, obese women are much more likely to acquire gestational diabetes while pregnant and, once the baby is born, there is a higher risk of complications. Miscarriages tend to be more common in obese women as well.
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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a joint disorder that can cause issues for various body parts. The knees, neck, and hips are just some of the many parts that experience more joint pain due to osteoarthritis. Being overweight greatly increases an individual's risk of developing osteoarthritis, due to excess pressure on the joints. This condition can limit the patient's ability to stay active and engage in normal activities.
Doctors will have more knowledge as far as how to safely lose weight with osteoarthritis. Physical activity will obviously shed pounds, but this also puts more pressure on the joints until the weight is lost. Weight loss plans can vary on a case-by-case basis and everyone's body reacts differently, depending on the activity, so seeking a doctor's advice is recommended.
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Heart Problems
Being obese puts a lot of strain on a patient's heart, forcing it to work much harder to maintain proper circulation throughout a wider mass. The heart can only go for so long and the harder it is forced to pump, the weaker it becomes, which then increases an individual's likelihood of experiencing heart failure.
Blood pressure also increases with weight gain, meaning the arteries get put through a lot. As they inflame and plaque builds up, arteries will become clogged which can cause heart attacks or coronary heart disease. The entire body benefits when a healthy lifestyle is maintained. The best options to shed excess weight are to eat healthy and stay active. Seeking doctor's counsel is always recommended to ensure no injuries occur.
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Diabetes
Diabetes develops when an individual's body cannot produce insulin or use it efficiently. When an individual is overweight, their blood sugar levels will be harder to control, thus putting more strain on the entire system. While many things can cause diabetes, it is most commonly developed in individuals who are obese.
Individuals can reduce their risk of developing diabetes by increasing their physical activity and eating foods that help their body, rather than hinder it. This will help them keep their weight down and decreases the risk of gaining it back, thus encouraging the body to run more efficiently. Even a small amount of weight loss can lower an individual's risk of diabetes quite significantly.
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Metabolic Syndrome
Likely the most common health risk linked to obesity is metabolic syndrome, which is essentially a group of smaller diseases, including high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol and triglycerides, high blood sugar, and excess fat around the waist.
This is a problematic health condition that heightens the possibility an individual will eventually suffer from some type of cardiovascular disease like a heart attack or stroke. The extra weight a patient has when they are obese causes more pressure to be placed on the artery walls, which invariably increases their blood pressure. In order for someone to be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, the circumference of their waist must be at least forty inches if they are a man and thirty-five inches if they are a woman. Blood pressure, glucose levels, and triglyceride levels must also come in at high rates. While this is a serious condition, losing weight once an individual has been diagnosed with it may allow them to avoid the more severe complications that come with this syndrome.
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Liver Disease And Damage
When an individual is considered obese, they'll be at a higher risk of being affected by liver disease and liver damage. While liver disease is something that typically develops among individuals who consume excessive amounts of alcohol over the years, the type of liver disease that occurs within obese individuals is referred to as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This liver condition occurs when too much fat is stored within the liver cells, which is brought about by obesity. The first sign an individual may be suffering from this condition is an enlarged liver due to inflammation in the area. If the condition is left untreated and the patient's weight remains the same, the damage can worsen and eventually cause irreversible scarring. As such, it's important for individuals to have this condition treated immediately upon detection. At the early stages of this disease, patients will experience some pain in their abdomen as well as general fatigue alongside the enlarged liver. In the event scarring occurs before the patient has lost weight or obtained treatment, they may experience jaundice, reddened palms, enlarged blood vessels around the surface of the skin, and swelling in the abdomen.
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Stroke
A stroke is a severe health condition that results from the blood supply to the brain being interrupted. When this interruption occurs, the tissues inside of the patient's brain are unable to receive the nutrients needed for them to survive. In just a matter of minutes, the cells in the patient's brain will begin to die. Immediate treatment is necessary if individuals want to minimize serious complications. Being obese greatly increases an individual's chances of suffering from this condition because excess fat leads to the development of inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation reduces blood flow and greatly increases the possibility of blockages along the bloodstream, which means the brain won't receive the blood it needs.
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Kidney Disease
Kidney disease is one of the more severe health risks linked to obesity. An individual's potential for suffering from this disease increases because of obesity for a variety of reasons. When an individual is obese, they'll have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and diabetes, both of which are known to cause kidney disease. The extra weight on the body will also place the kidneys under an ample amount of stress that could cause them to be damaged since the kidneys will need to work harder to get rid of built-up waste. If this disease is chronic and is unable to be effectively treated, it's possible patients will eventually suffer from kidney failure.
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Certain Cancers
There are numerous health organizations that link various types of cancer with obesity. Some of these cancers include breast, colon, kidney, and gallbladder. As obesity rates rise, so do the number of cases of cancer. Excess estrogen, too much insulin, and an increased number of certain types of hormones may all contribute to this.
Small numbers on the weight scale mean a lowered risk of developing cancer, so maintaining a manageable weight and healthy lifestyle can make a huge impact on an individual's overall quality of life. Both exercise and healthy eating habits will help individuals shed extra pounds and keep them off.