Hazards of Obesity

Obesity causes many serious diseases like heart attack, diabetes, cancer, renal disorder or hemorrhage. They are generally the causes of a fat person抯 death. Obesity is a major factor that reduces life expectancy. Let discuss in brief how obesity affects different organs and systems of the human body.

- Muscles of fat persons are soft and weak. If the muscles are loose and weak, they cannot support the internal organs of the body and therefore the organs do not remain secure in their proper positions and easily get displaced. Therefore fat persons often become victims of different types of hernia.

- In fat persons, the coordination between muscles and the nervous system is inadequate. Consequently, they are slow in their reflex actions. As a result of this, they are more prone to injuries and accidents.

- Fat persons consume more energy for doing physical works. This affects their efficiency. They get breathless after the slightest physical exertion. Therefore they are generally found to be lazy or inactive.

- Fat persons complain of severe pain in the feet or soles which are crushed under the weight of their heavy bodies. Fat persons also suffer from flat feet. Similarly, weight bearing joints like the ankles, hips and the spinal cord are also strained constantly on account of the heavy weight they have to carry. Consequently, fat persons are susceptible to degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis at a very young age.

- The joints of the body are surrounded by muscles. Muscles lend support to the joints. As the muscles of fat persons are weak, their joints are not adequately supported. This is the main reason why fat persons often complain of chronic backache. Besides this, the joints of fat persons are stiff and therefore, their bodies are less flexible and they cannot bend their bodies easily.

- Compared to normal children, fat children are more prone to congenital and acquired deformities of bones and joints.

- Generally the level of cholesterol is high in the blood of fat persons. With the passage of time, this cholesterol gets deposited on the inner surface of blood vessels. As a result of this, blood vessels not only become hard and narrow, but also lose their elasticity. Like other blood vessels, arteries which supply blood to the heart, are also narrowed in the case of fat people. Such a situation creates circumstances conductive to ischemic heart disease.

- High blood pressure is also associated with obesity. In the case of a fat person, high blood pressure develops at an early age.

- Fat persons are more prone to varicose veins. Varicose veins are an indication of slow blood circulation.

- The act of breathing involves the movement of several parts of the stomach and chest. Two types of muscles are mainly responsible for this: some muscles of the chest and the diaphragm. When fat person breaths, he has to lift his heavy chest every time, and besides this, he also finds it difficult to push the diaphragm towards the fat stuffed belly and stomach. It is because of this that a fat person gets tired and breathless easily.

- As the cholesterol is generally high in the blood of fat persons, this high cholesterol causes stone formation in the gall bladder.

- Obesity creates many problems during pregnancy also. It creates many problems like toxemia, difficulties in delivery, post delivery bleeding, death of the mother or the child, etc. Fat women, generally, do not have normal deliveries. A caesarian operation is required in the cases of most of the fat women.

- Any surgical operation of a fat person surrounds with many dangers. The patient has to be given anesthesia before the operation is performed and it is not only difficult but also dangerous to administer anesthesia to a fat person. The breathing of a fat person is generally shallow as the movement of his diaphragm is hindered. Anesthesia is likely to affect his breathing adversely. The chances of developing embolism in the veins are also more in obese.

- Post surgical recovery is also very slow in fat persons. Their convalescence period is usually very long.

- Obesity disrupts the proper functioning of endocrine glands.

- The liver too is adversely affected by obesity. It has been found that degenerative diseases of the liver and cirrhosis of liver strike fat persons more often.

- Fat women suffer from menorrhagia, infertility and several other disorders of menstruation.

- Degenerative changes in the kidneys occurs more severely and early in fat person.

- Possibilities of developing cancer are directly proportional to overweight. This fact applies particularly to those who are aged above 45.

- Fat persons are often made targets of fun, gossip and ridicule among friends and in the society. As a result of this, many fat persons develop an inferiority complex or suffer from other psychological disorders.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

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