You probably already know that smoking and drinking too much tend to increase your risk of serious health complications, but obesity is often just as dangerous. When you carry extra weight and consume too many calories, sugar, and fat, your body takes a beating. If you want to better protect your body for better health, check out these five common health risks associated with obesity.
1. Heat DiseaseHeart disease can affect the heart and blood vessels. In many cases, the condition causes the blood vessels to narrow or become blocked with plaque. As a result, the heart has to work harder to pump blood, increasing blood pressure. In some cases, the narrowing or plaque build-up can be enough to stop the blood supply to a certain area, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
If your blood vessels are affected by heart disease, expect chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and pain in the neck/jaw/throat. When your heart is affected, it can result in heart arrhythmias, such as fluttering in the chest, racing heartbeat, lightheadedness, and fainting.
2. Diabetes
Being overweight is one of the
leading risk factors
for type 2 diabetes. The risk increases if you are also inactive, and store a lot of fat around your abdomen. Diabetes affects how your body processes blood sugar (glucose) by affecting insulin production.
Normally, when you eat sugar, your pancreas secretes insulin to counteract that sugar, but with type 2 diabetes, the insulin is no longer effective, allowing glucose to build in your bloodstream.
The symptoms of diabetes may include increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, blurred vision, and fatigue. People with diabetes also tend to have slow healing, especially in the limbs, which may have poor circulation. Therefore, if someone with diabetes gets a wound on their toe, it may take a long time to heal or be more prone to infection.
3. Gallbladder Disease
People who are obese tend to eat a lot of fat, which needs to be processed by the gallbladder. The gallbladder serves as a storage tank for the bile produced in your liver. When you eat fatty foods, this bile is released to digest those fats as the food passes through the small intestine. When the gallbladder has to work too hard, this can lead to gallstones.
Alone, gallstones can get stuck in the bile duct, causing mild to severe pain. However, the gallstones can also irritate the gallbladder walls. Without treatment, the gallbladder may begin to develop necrosis or gangrene. Luckily, your gallbladder can be removed without many side effects.
4. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a joint condition that leads to the breakdown of cartilage. As the cartilage thins, the bones of your joints start to rub together, which leads to pain and stiffness. Osteoarthritis is commonly caused by long-term wear and tear to the joints, and if you are obese, the joints experience more wear and tear than average because of the excess weight.
Most commonly, osteoarthritis is found in the hands, knees, hips, and spine. The condition can lead to decreased range of motion, limited mobility, and joint instability. The best treatment for osteoarthritis is to lose weight and get active. Moving can hurt at first, but the more you move, the easier it gets.
5. Cancer
Being overweight can also increase your risk of developing at least
13
types of cancer, including thyroid cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, and pancreatic cancer. About 55 percent of all cancers in women are associated with obesity.
Except for colon cancer, the number of cancers associated with obesity keeps increasing. The only reason colon cancer has not is thanks to new screening methods.
Being overweight can be detrimental to your overall health and lead to premature death. If you are tired of struggling with health problems because of your extra weight, consider doctor-assistant weight loss programs. For more information,
contact us
at Jack G. Faup M.D. today.