The Many Dangers of Obesity

     Because we are constantly being inundated with images of ultra-thin models and actresses, the main motivational factor for people to lose weight is to improve their self image and appearance. A more important reason to keep weight under control is the impact of obesity on a persons' health.

Being obese has tremendous negative impacts on the health of an individual significantly decreasing quality and longevity of life. Major physical threats such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease can be linked to obesity and excess body fat. An obese person requires more energy to breathe due to the fact that the heart has to work harder pumping blood to the lungs and throughout extra fat in the body. This causes the heart muscle to become enlarged which can result in heart disease, erratic heartbeats and high blood pressure.

Obesity is also a major cause of high cholesterol. High cholesterol is one of the main causes of arteriosclerosis, a life threatening disease caused by plaque deposits in arteries. Sometimes these deposits can block blood vessels causing the heart to pump harder which in turn raises a persons' blood pressure. The vicious circle of disease and physical breakdown continues because high blood pressure is a common culprit of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. In fact, studies show that 25 percent of all blood vessel and heart problems are caused by obesity.

Clinical studies have found a link between obesity and the occurrence of cancer. It is believed body fat is the ideal storage vessel for carcinogens (cancer causing substances). Excess body fat has shown to be connected to higher rates of uterine and breast cancers in women and prostate and colon cancers in men.

Diabetes is an increased risk associated with obesity because of the delicate balance between body fat, blood sugar and the insulin hormone. Organs such as the liver store excess blood sugar, but when they reach their full capacity, excess blood sugar begins to get converted to fat. The fat cells themselves become unable to absorb more blood sugar and diabetes occurs. In addition to this, obese people sometimes overproduce insulin which exacerbates the situation. With diabetes comes an increased health risk of heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, amputation and shortened life span.

Obesity can also result in fatty liver disease caused by insulin resistance. Studies have shown that the higher the body mass index (BMI) of an individual, the more severe the liver disease. Obese people are three times more at risk of developing gallstones. Increased health risks from respiratory problems are also more common in people suffering from obesity, such as apnoea and asthma, than their slimmer counterparts.

The detrimental effects of obesity don't stop at the physical level, there are also psychological and social effects associated with obesity. Some people struggling and unhappy with their weight can often feel depressed and unattractive. Depression is often linked with psychosomatic health problems.

These are just some of the many negative effects of obesity and should be considered as a more important motivational factor for losing excess fat than aesthetic reasons. Even a weight loss of a few pounds can have very favorable results in reducing countless risk factors.

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