Severe obesity makes you sick – experts agree on that. Obesity, but also overweight, are a risk factor for numerous civilization diseases, above all diseases of the vessels and the cardiovascular system: hypertension (high blood pressure), arteriosclerosis including consequences such as heart attack as well as stroke. This risk increases, if to the predominance apart from Hypertonie also still another sugar illness (diabetes) as well as fat metabolic disturbance occurs (“deadly quartet”).
Consequences and risks of obesity
Particularly in obesity permagna (BMI from 40), the following risks are not uncommon:
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Left heart enlargement, arteriosclerosis
- Heart attack, stroke
- Disturbed sugar metabolism up to diabetes
- Dyslipidemia
- Increased blood clotting
- Gout, spinal diseases, osteoarthritis.
- Gall bladder disease, fatty liver, reflux disease.
- Dementia
- Hormone disorders (for example, impaired fertility).
- Lung and respiratory problems
- Sleep apnea
- Cancer (for example, breast cancer, uterine cancer, colon cancer, gallbladder cancer, kidney cancer).
- Wound healing disorders, increased risk of surgery and anesthesia, increased complication rates during pregnancy.
Obesity: consequences of a general nature
In addition, there are general complaints of obesity such as increased sweating, shortness of breath, as well as joint pain. In obesity permagna, activities of daily living are often also restricted. Many affected people perceive their massive overweight as a restriction of their quality of life or suffer from the reactions of those around them.
People with obesity have higher rates of depression and anxiety disorders. Numerous studies on obesity have shown that a large BMI is associated with a shortened life expectancy.
Obesity: BMI and fat distribution.
The risk for secondary diseases in obesity depends not only on BMI but also strongly on how the excess weight is distributed:
- It is now known that the so-called apple type, in which the fat stores are located around the middle of the body (and thus also on the internal organs), has a particularly high risk of cardiovascular disease.
- The pear type, on the other hand, in which the fat deposits are more comfortable on the hips and thighs, is less at risk.
In general, the waist circumference serves as a rough indicator – in women, this indicates an increased risk from 80 cm, in men from 94 cm. Incidentally, a physically fit person with a higher BMI is likely to have a lower risk of secondary diseases than someone who is only slightly overweight and never exercises.