Obesity is one of the main problems that put you at risk for life-threatening diseases and health conditions. The only way to overcome this is by bringing necessary changes in your lifestyle, such as regular exercise and eating healthy foods. This article highlights the causes, symptoms, and the adverse effects of obesity on the human body.
Causes of Obesity
Obesity is caused due to the excess accumulation of fat in your body. When you take in high amounts of fat and sugars but fail to burn off the energy through physical activities, your body will store these energy in the form of fat. Even though obesity is mostly linked with lifestyle habits, some people are predisposed to gaining weight.
The main causes of obesity include:
- Genetics
- Hormones
- Overeating
- Junk food addiction
- Too much of sugar intake
- Lack of physical activity
- Binge eating
- Metabolism
- Alcohol consumption
- Certain medications
Signs and Symptoms of Obesity
The most common sign that tells whether or not you are obese is the excess body fat measured by the body mass index (BMI). Those people with a BMI measure of 30 or above is considered obese. In such a case, talk to a health professional immediately. You can also consult a doctor online. When you have a higher body mass index, you have greater chances of developing severe health problems. To maintain healthy body weight, your BMI should be 24 or less.
BMI = weight(kg) / height(square)
What Are the Negative Effects of Obesity on the Human Body?
Take a look at these negative effects of obesity and understand how badly it affects your overall health.
1. Type 2 diabetes
Obesity makes your body resistant to insulin and causes high blood sugar that increases your risk of type 2 diabetes. Obese people are 10 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than normal people. It doubles your risk of other diseases. Type 2 diabetes causes stroke, kidney problems, stroke, nerve defects, blindness, and also makes your wound heal slower.
Read: Foods and Drinks to Avoid with Diabetes
2. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is strongly associated with obesity. It is a common joint disorder that affects your back, hands, knees, neck, and hips. If you are obese, then the excess weight increases the load placed on these joints, especially knees. This increases stress and could also hasten the cartilage breakdown. Doing some stretching and flexibility exercises will help to decrease the pain caused by osteoarthritis.
3. Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is one of the main negative effects of obesity. When you are obese, your heart has to work harder than normal in order to pump blood. This makes your arteries strain, and in turn, the arteries resist the flood of blood, increasing your blood pressure levels. This condition also increases the risk of other health problems such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and kidney diseases.
4. Cholesterol
If you are obese, then your LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels tend to be high, and HDL (good cholesterol) become low. This increases your risk of stroke and heart attack.
5. Respiratory issues
Obesity can cause mechanical compression of your diaphragm, chest cavity, and lungs, all of which leads to restrictive pulmonary damage. It also reduces the respiratory system compliance in total, increases the pulmonary resistance, and decreases the respiratory muscle strength. Obese people are more likely to have asthma and other related respiratory problems.
Also, those affected by obesity are victims of obstructive sleep apnea or OSA. This is a serious sleeping disorder that occurs when excess fat in your neck, tongue or throat blocks the air passage during sleep further reducing the amount of oxygen in the blood.
6. Cancer
People with obesity are more likely to become the victims of cancer. This is mainly due to the inflammation caused by the accumulation of visceral fat, that is, the fat that surrounds your vital organs. This excess visceral fat affects the way your body manages hormones such as insulin or estrogen. Higher levels of estrogen increase cell production and further results in tumour growth. In women, excess estrogen is linked to an increased risk for ovarian, endometrial, and breast cancer.
7. Infertility
Obese women have higher levels of leptin, a hormone which is produced in fatty tissues. This disrupts the hormone balance and affects fertility. If you are obese, then it becomes more difficult for you to get pregnant. Also, it increases pregnancy complications. If you are someone trying with infertility issues, then don’t worry, there are different types of infertility treatments available.
8. Mental illness
Obesity is strongly linked to mental health problems such as depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. Obese people always feel as if they are discriminated, rejected and unattractive. This makes them emotionally strained, which causes further weight gain.
However, it is never too late to make changes in your lifestyle that can help you shed the extra pounds. Start with simple steps – cut back sugary foods, manage portions, and exercise 15 to 30 minutes daily.
Never depend on pills for weight loss and instead, go for natural remedies. Ayurvedic medicines for weight loss do not have any side effects and help in the weight loss process effectively.
