12 Health Risks Associated With Obesity – Know The Risks!

Obesity and being overweight come with its fair share of issues, especially when it comes to one’s health. If you weren’t aware of the health risks associated with obesity, it is important that you focus on the same because it brings along quite a number of health risks that you didn’t know of.

To help you get a better idea around the same, we are going to sort you out with some of the common health risks, and make you aware so it’s easier to find ways to mitigate these issues altogether.

In here, we are going to sort you out with some of the important diseases caused by obesity and why it is important to take the condition seriously before it’s late.

Obesity Health Risks

For those wondering, there is a fine line of difference in being obese and being overweight.

Obesity is the condition wherein one has excessive body fats in their body whereas, being overweight is a condition in which one weighs more which can stem from muscles, bones and even the water weight in the body.

Obesity is a marker for an unhealthy body because excessive body weight does have negative impacts on the overall body and enhance the risks related to heart disease and other chronic conditions.

It is actually very important that you do focus on finding better ways to mitigate the condition because the persistent condition can end up affecting one’s overall well being.

Let us take a look at some of the problems associated with obesity, shall we?

1. Enhanced Risks of Type-2 Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent risks and health issue that are affecting people around. Millions or people across the world are being affected with this condition.

One of the most common reasons behind this condition is obesity and the accumulation of excessive fats in the body.

Type-2 Diabetes is the one that is considered to be one of the health risks associated with obesity. Statistics suggest that around 87% of the people suffering from diabetes are either overweight or obese.

While the reason behind the same is still unknown, it is believed that the same could be because of the condition of insulin resistance that the body encounters.

The reason why the insulin resistance is related to obesity and in turn with diabetes is because it is believed that the same makes the overall cells in the body non-functional over a period of time.

When a person suffers from insulin resistance, chances are that the blood sugar levels in the body are constantly high and do end up resulting in constant high blood pressure in the body. In addition to that, the cells have to also work extra hard in the same feat to again cope up with the lack of the insulin functions which end up causing the issues all the more.

This ends up making the cells actually fail in functioning.

2. Cardiovascular Diseases

Our heart health is very fragile. One of the common health problems caused by obesity is the wide range of cardiovascular issues. If you have been experiencing pain around the chest and the left hand, chances are that your heart might be overworked and needs some attention to recover properly.

For the most part, the reason why obesity is such a common issue is all because of the fact that they have direct impacts on the cholesterol levels of the body.

Higher cholesterol levels, especially with that of the LDL cholesterol does impose negative impacts on the body and enhances the risks of the heart diseases and even strokes because of the accumulation of the fats inside the bloodstream

The LDL cholesterol often ends up getting accumulated inside the blood vessels, especially the arteries as plaque, thus further enhancing the risks of high blood pressure (R) and even strokes, if the blood flow isn’t normalized.

Even studies have found that weight loss and a healthy lifestyle do have the capability to help improve the condition of the cardiovascular health of an individual as well.

3. Sleep Apnea

For those who aren’t aware, sleep apnea (R) is a condition wherein the person suffering from it stops breathing for a few seconds while being asleep.

One of the common health risks associated with obesity is the higher precedence of developing sleep apnea. This kind of secondary obstruction around the neck region does have the tendency to even impose life threatening situations.

The reason why obese people are more at risk with the condition of the sleep apnea is mainly because of the fact that they have more fat stored around their neck (R) region, which does have the potential to end up making the airways shrink.

With a smaller airway, it is often difficult for the air to pass along freely along the body, further enhancing the risks of lack of breathing momentary which one refers to as sleep apnea.

4. High Blood Pressure

It is true that we mentioned about the heart diseases associated with obesity but the condition of high blood pressure is no intimately associated with the condition that it does require a completely separate understanding to be able to glide along well.

As mentioned before, obesity is a condition marked by the levels of excess fats stored in the body. The excess fat in the body does have a direct connection to the cholesterol levels in the body, enhancing the levels of LDL extensively. This is one of the reasons why this condition has direct impacts on high blood pressure.

When the LDL in the blood starts accumulating around the blood vessels, especially the arteries, the same does have direct impacts in causing obstruction to the smooth blood pressure (R) and cause it to spike.

It is also believed that when the person is obese, there have been reports that the heart has to work more vigorously to pump the blood back (R) into the body, thus further causing issues with the overall well being.

5. Risks of Cancer

Even though it might sound a little off the beat but one of the common obesity health risks is associated with a higher incidence of cancer.

There are several types of cancer that have higher risk rate when one is obese. Some of the common ones include colon cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, endometrium cancer, oesophageal cancer and several others as well.

The reason behind the same could be because of the higher rate of free radical damage, thus further enhancing the risks associated with the condition.

Gall bladder cancer is also a possibility in such situations. It is thus important that you do focus on finding better ways to cope because the persistence of this enhances the risks even more.

A review based study (R) which was conducted back in 2012 found that around 28,000 new cased of cancer in men and around 72,000 similar cases of cancer in women happened because of the condition of obesity.

6. Osteoarthritis

Yet another one of the common health problems associated with obesity is osteoarthritis. For those who aren’t aware, osteoarthritis is a condition that is caused by the wearing down of the tissues present in the end of the bones or cartilage.

The same also causes rubbing of the bones, thus making the bone wear off over time. The condition is very painful and can even cause disability is the correct treatment isn’t administered on time.

The reason why obesity is related to the condition is all because of the fact that it has direct impacts on putting excess pressure on the knees and joints (R), thus further causing the risks of wear and tear. The excess pressure on the joints and the cartilage end up causing them to wear off over the course of time.

In addition to that, it has also been found that obese people tend to have the risks of have more inflammation causing agents in the bloodstream which again further enhance the risks associated with the inflammation and pain inflicted because of osteoarthritis.

Studies (R) have found that weight loss of even at least 5% has been found to have direct impacts in helping reduce unnecessary inflammation and promote better healing over time. In addition to that, exercises are also found beneficial for the condition as well.

7. Fatty Liver Disease

Next on the list of the health problems caused by obesity is the fatty liver disease is a condition wherein there is an excess accumulation of fats around in the liver and ends up causing injury and affecting the hepatocytes in the body in a negative way. The condition of fatty liver disease imposes further risks associated with liver damage or even liver failure.

The issue with the condition is the fact that the symptoms aren’t very prominent with this condition. What this does is end up making it hard to detect the condition.

The exact reasoning behind the condition of fatty liver is still not known but studies do believe for a fact that the condition can be caused because of the excessive fat deposition in the body.

While the symptoms are sparse and the causes are still unclear, it is very important that one finds better ways to combat the condition by losing weight or even warding off the risks associated with the condition.

8. Gout

Gout is a condition marked by the inflammation around the joints because of the excess accumulation of fluids around those areas. It is often caused when the levels of uric acid in the body is way more than what the normal levels should be.

Studies have found that the condition of gout is more likely to affect overweight and obese people. The exact reasons behind the same are still something that needs further studies to understand the situation better.

9. Gall Bladder Issues

Gall bladder issues are yet another one of the common health risks associated with obesity that many have no idea about.

The gall bladder is responsible for the production of a compound called bile which has direct impacts in fat oxidation. Obesity has been found to increase the risks associated with developing gall stones which obstructs the smooth release of bile into the bloodstream.

In such cases, the secreted bile starts getting accumulated inside the gall bladder, thus enhancing the risks associated with gall stones. Studies have also found that obese people also tend to have high cholesterol levels in the bile which further enhances the risks associated with the gall bladder diseases like gall stones.

If the condition persists, it can create pain and even enhance the risks of your overall well being.

10. Kidney Issues

One of the most common diseases associated with obesity is chronic kidney disease (R) which is caused because of the condition of diabetes and other underlying issues that many suffer from.

The combination of diabetes and hypertension often exerts immense negative pressure on the kidneys, thus enhancing the risks associated with chronic kidney disease that many suffer from.

Even some recent studies (R) have found that even without any other accessory disease, just obesity is enough to propagate the increased risks behind the condition of the kidney problem that many experiences on a daily basis.

11. Depression

With the kind of world that we live in wherein everyone is freaking over fitness and have the perfect body, someone obese can definitely feel issues with their body. Body image issues are one of the major concerns in today’s world that has been enhancing the risks of depression and other mental health problems.

There have been some studies (R) conducted which have actually established a correlation between obesity and major depressive disorders all because of the complex and lack of self-confidence they tend to feel because of the people they see around them in their perfect bodies.

The condition is affecting the children and teens more, ensuing risks of eating disorders in some as well. It is believed that the people who tend to be depressed because of obesity are the ones who have been talked down or frowned upon for their body size.

12. Issues With Pregnancy

One of the common health risks associated with obesity is the wide range of complications they face during the pregnancy term.

Obesity is often linked with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in women that does impose direct complications for getting pregnant. Not just that, many obese or even overweight women who are pregnant also have enhanced risks of developing insulin resistance, high blood pressure and the whole lot.

The same also has enhanced risks and complications during the time of delivery as well.

In a conducted study (R), it was found that 60% of women who have a BMI score of above 40 and are pregnant experienced a lot of complications during the pregnancy and even during the time of the delivery.

How Can One Combat This Issue?

Since the obesity health risks are so vast and impactful, it is quite important to find effective ways to overcome the situation for the better. The best way to do so is by making changes to one’s overall lifestyle as well as eating habits.

If you have been failing to adhere to the same or don’t have any idea how to go around with it, it is best that you follow through the little pointers that we mention around.

1. Make Healthier Choices

We are so caught up with the aftermath of everything that we don’t even address the first thing that needs changing – the diet.

If you wish to overcome obesity for a healthier well being, it is quite important that you make healthier switches. And by healthier switches, we mean that you cut out foods and unhealthy items that could further add on to the pile of the causes behind the condition of obesity.

Instead, it is important that you switch out the unhealthy refined grains with the whole grains and so on and so forth.

2. Get Moving

One of the best ways to overcome health problems associated with obesity is by getting more active in the day to day lifestyle. The best way to get rid of the excess accumulated fats in the body is by burning them out in 30-minute cardio.

The issue with exercising is that you need to be consistent. You can’t possibly expect results after doing that for a day. That is not how anything works. Being persistent with the situation solves out more than half of the problems one could be facing.

3. Eat a Balanced Diet

Eating a healthy diet is the key to successful weight loss and reduced obesity health risks.

If you have been neglecting your diet and what you are putting inside your body, it is most definitely time to make a change.

Skipping meals won’t do any good and tends to increase the fat accumulation and storage even further which is the last thing that anybody needs. Instead of skipping the meals, ensure that you eat a balanced diet including all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals that can help improve the overall well being for the better.

Don’t skip out on breakfast because that is often one of the most common reasons behind the condition of obesity.

[Also, Read: Reasons You Shouldn’t Skip BreakFast]

4. Include More Healthy Fats and Proteins

Often times, people opt for calories restriction and end up not eating a number of food items that are actually quite important for the body, especially when it comes to weight loss.

Eating more of healthy fats and proteins in the diet in comparison to simple carbs have been found to have beneficial impacts in helping reduce the risks of obesity for the better.

They help you reach satiety sooner and prevent you from overeating food that you aren’t supposed to.

Healthy fats from salmon, avocado, nuts and seeds etc. Can actually help you reduce the health problems caused by obesity.

5. Drink More Water

If you wish to keep the diseases caused by obesity at bay, it is important that you keep your levels of hydration in check at all times.

The main reason why water helps in preventing obesity is that it has potential detoxifying properties on the body, thus helping improve the overall metabolism and reduces the risks of health issues.

Drinking optimal levels of water according to your body mass is quite important to keep all the normal functions of the body going normally.

[Also, Read: Ways to Increase Water Intake for Healthier Well Being]

If you have been inquisitive about the health risks associated with obesity, we have listed them all out for you. Given how impactful the condition is, it is quite important that one find ways to reduce the risks. Focus on eating healthy and leading a healthy lifestyle because that itself solves more than half of the problems.