What are the health risks of being overweight or obese?
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Dr. Mehmet Oz answered:Being overweight can hurt your health in many ways. Watch as Dr. Oz explains why in this video.
Being overweight can hurt your health in many ways. Watch as Dr. Oz explains why in this video. More -
Piedmont Heart Institute answered:Being overweight or obese isn't a cosmetic problem. It greatly raises the risk in adults for many diseases and conditions, including:
Heart Disease: This condition occurs when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the inside walls of the coronary arteries. Plaque narrows the coronary arteries, which reduces blood flow to your heart.
High Blood Pressure: Your chances for having high blood pressure are greater if you're overweight or obese.Stroke: The risk of having a stroke rises as BMI increases.
Type 2 Diabetes: More than 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Abnormal Blood Fats: If you're obese, you have a greater chance of having abnormal levels of blood fats. Abnormal levels of these blood fats are a risk for heart disease.
Metabolic Syndrome: Metabolic syndrome occurs when a person has at least three of these heart disease risk factors: A large waistline. 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 levelsCancer: Being obese raises the risk for colon, breast, endometrial, and gallbladder cancers.
Osteoarthritis: This is a common joint problem of the knees, hips, and lowers back. Extra weight can put more pressure and wear on joints, causing pain.
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.
Reproductive Problems: Obesity can cause menstrual irregularity and infertility in women.
Gallstones: People who are overweight or obese have a greater chance of having 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.This answer is based on source information from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Being overweight or obese isn't a cosmetic problem. It greatly raises the risk in adults for many diseases and conditions, including: Heart Disease: This condition occurs when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the inside walls of the... More -
Dr. Celeste Robb-Nicholson answered:Not only is obesity closely linked to high blood pressure, unfavorable cholesterol levels, lack of exercise, and diabetes, it also increases your risk for heart disease independent of these other conditions. All forms of obesity are bad for health, but excessive upper-body fat (the "apple shape") is more dangerous to the heart than lower-body obesity (the "pear shape").Not only is obesity closely linked to high blood pressure, unfavorable cholesterol levels, lack of exercise, and diabetes, it also increases your risk for heart disease independent of these other conditions. All forms of obesity are bad for health,... More -
RealAge answered:Being overweight or obese leads to the following:
- Higher Levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP): Elevated CRP indicates an inflammatory reaction somewhere in your body. And if it's high, your risk of heart disease is greater, because significant inflammation anywhere in your body increases inflammation in your blood vessels. Obesity is associated with higher levels of CRP.
- Higher Risk of Cancer: The inflammation resulting from omentum (belly) fat also causes dysfunction in the system that protects you from cancer. In fact, there's a direct correlation between waist size and an increased risk of hormonally sensitive tumors, such as breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
- Higher Risk of Sleep Apnea: Fat around your waist correlates with a thick neck, and that can obstruct your breathing while you sleep (you're at higher risk if your neck size is more than 17 inches). And you're more likely to develop nick-causing high blood pressure (BP) if you have sleep apnea.
- Higher Risk of Joint Problems: Your knees are prone to wear and tear if they have to carry a heavier load (that is, more fat in your body) than they're designed to. When you gain 10 pounds of body weight, it feels more like 30 pounds of weight gain to your knees while you're walking.
You can avoid many of these risks by reducing your waist size. When overweight people (with an average weight of 225 pounds) lose about 7.5% of their body weight (about 17 pounds, or 4 inches of waist size), they improve their high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, BP, and blood sugar numbers by—get this—20%!
Being overweight or obese leads to the following: Higher Levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP): Elevated CRP indicates an inflammatory reaction somewhere in your body. And if it's high, your risk of heart disease is greater, because significant... More -
Dr. Christopher Chiodo answered:Your weight plays a major role in your risk for many health problems: cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, several forms of cancer, arthritis, gallstones, adult-onset asthma, infertility, sleep apnea, and even snoring. Excess weight can also contribute to certain foot problems.Your weight plays a major role in your risk for many health problems: cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, several forms of cancer, arthritis, gallstones, adult-onset asthma, infertility, sleep apnea, and... More
