Health Risks of Obesity: Rising At an Alarming Rate
Obesity is a chronic condition in which excess amount of fat accumulates over the body. For effective functioning of the body and bearing other activities shock absorption, storing energy, heat insulation, etc certain amount of body fat is necessary to maintain. For instance, in women body, fat between 25-30% and in men 18-23% of body fat is considered as adequate. So, when percentage of body fact rises over normal percentage, then person is considered as obese.
Normally, body mass index is calculated for gathering information that whether a person is obese or not. Any person if having BMI equivalent to 30 or more than it is categorized as obese. An eye-opening fact revealed by NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) is that “Slightly more than one-third of the U.S. citizens are obese”. And he figure is rising with every passing day not only in America but in whole world.
Causes of obesity
Many factors contribute towards obesity. Some of the most prominent factors are assorted below:
- Diet high in carbohydrates
- Lack of physical exercises
It is commonly said and believed that obesity is a root cause of number of diseases as more health problems will develop if a person is obese.
Health problems coming along with obesity
Some of the main health problems associated with obesity are described below:
Increased risk of arthritis-
Hips, ankles, feet, etc certain body parts that bear maximum weight of the body. If a person is obese, then chances of quick wearing out of these joints increases significantly.Chances of occurring musculoskeletal disorder like osteoarthritis increases manifold if a person is obese. Some of the health studies predict that risk of arthritis increases with every 2 pound increase in weight.
Increased risk of stroke-
Obesity is considered as second most important factor for causing strokes. A person suffers from strokes if he is suffering from high blood pressure and high cholesterol and if a person is obese he is bound to suffer from both the conditions.
Increased risk of heart attacks-
Chances ofheart diseases like heart attacks tend to become as high as six times if a person is obese. Heart disease is considered as one of the main reasons that contribute towards early death.
Increased risk of cholesterol-
Obesity results in increasing level of cholesterols in the human body, thus posing greater risk of increased cholesterol and its ill-effects.
Increased Health Risks for Expectant Mother and Baby-
If any obese mother is expecting, then chances of death of both mother and newborn baby rises significantly. Due to obesity, mothers become more vulnerable towards suffering from high blood pressure.
Increased gall bladder-
As compared to normal weight person, risk of gallstones approximately rises to 3 times in obese person.
Physiology and social Effects-
It is a common perception among masses that they considered slim people as attractive. So, if a person is obese, it bound to hurt him/her mentally and psychologically.
Apart from this, increased risk of chronic venous Insufficiency, increased risk of breathing problems, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, etc are considered as some of the health hazards cause by obesity. Therefore, if you want to keep all above health risks at bay, then it is advised to maintain adequate weight of the body.
Summary:
Obesity is a condition in which human body accumulates excess fat, over than prescribed limits. Unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercises, etc are considered as some of the most important causes of the disorder. Obese people are bound to face innumerable health problems.
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Written by: Healthplus24 team
Date last updated: April 24, 2012