Health Risks Associated with Obesity - Report Example

HRAO and Section # of Third World Economy According toWorld Health Organization, obesity is defined as excessive body fat stored in a person’s body (WHO, 2006). It is often confused with a person being overweight although this is not the case. This although is not a medical contingency itself but can and may cause many life threats if it is not controlled at the right time. This report is a reflection of the diseases that can overtake one’s life following obesity in any stage of his/her life. The report mainly outlines the problems that theses diseases may cause and to a certain extent their side effects as well. Obesity is not only a cosmetic glitch but a very serious future health issue. Many researches show that an over-weight person with excessive fat has more probability to develop certain diseases such as heart problems, diabetes, certain cancer-forms and many more (Sims, 2012). Some of the major diseases will be explained in this report. Risks Involved The diseases listed in the introductory section will be explained formulating the main theme of this report on Health risks linked with obesity. Every year, in the U.S alone, over 150 billion dollars are spent on obesity-related disease which causes about 300000 deaths, only in the U.S.A (Stanford, 2012). Some of the issues caused by obesity are listed and explained below. High Blood Pressure Additional fat tissues in the body need oxygen and nutrition to survive, which in turn need the blood vessels to provide excessive blood to the fats. This in-turn increases the amount of blood-pumping by the heart, making it work overtime. It also means that the pressure on the artery walls in more than required by a low quantity of fat tissues. This high pressure exerted on the artery walls will cause a higher blood pressure in the body. Also due to excessive weight of the body, the heart rate will be more causing difficulty to the body’s inbuilt ability to flow blood around the body through the blood vessels (Stanford, 2012). Diabetes Obesity or excessive fat causes mainly type II diabetes; which is, usually an adulthood issue but recent research shows that children are being diagnosed with this disease too. Obesity causes resistance to insulin, the hormone that polices the blood sugar. Blood sugar level goes up as excessive fat resists the formation of insulin. Even a low amount of unwanted fat in the body can cause the peril of diabetes (Stanford, 2012). Heart Diseases The arteries of obese people are more prone to be hardened, research says by almost 10 percent compared to those people who are not obese. Coronary artery disease also prevails as the fat deposits on the arteries en-route the heart. Smaller passage for the blood in the arteries mean that the flow of blood is decreased which can cause angina or an in simple terms a “heart attack”. The fat deposit can also cause blood clotting which can also result in a heart attack (Stanford, 2012). Joint Problems Excessive fat can also affect the knees and hips as extra fat makes up extra weight causing more stress on the bones where joints exist. Any kind of a surgery on the bone joints is not advisable for a fat person as artificial or treated joints may not be sufficient enough to hold extra weight, causing further damage to the most used bones in the body. It also causes day to day pains in various joints like the knees and ankles which eventually become life threatening injuries or ones which can cause excessive pain (Stanford, 2012).. Sleep apnea and Respiratory Issues Sleep apnea causes lack of breath for short period of times is also a side effect of obesity. As stated before obesity causes many diseases indirectly on a later stage of life. This stoppage of breath causes lack of sleep as it may interfere in the sleep at night and stop from sleeping in the daytime. This can also be one of the prime reasons of snoring while sleeping. Due to excessive weight around the chest area, the lungs are squeezes by the chest walls causing trouble in breathing. This may again lead to blood pressure and heart stroke (Stanford, 2012). Cancer Research concludes that malignant diseases are more often than not found in obese women. Some major forms of cancer found in women, in relation with obesity are breast, colon, and gallbladder and uterus cancer. Men who are obese run a high risk of colon and prostate cancer (Stanford, 2012). Metabolic Syndrome The national cholesterol education program has identified metabolic syndrome as a complicated threat for heart/muscle related diseases. Metabolic syndrome mainly consists of six factors namely abdominal obesity, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance with or without glucose intolerance, elevation of certain blood components that indicate inflammation, and elevation of certain clotting factors in the blood from Stanford (2012). Research shows that that almost one third of the American obese people suffer from any kind of metabolic syndrome. Psychosocial Effects The media has often changed the way people think and general perception. The concept of beauty has been made into a stereo-type by the fast growing media. This has made sure that fat people often reflected as slow and lazy, also being weak in their resolve to do any work. This often results in lower incomes and lesser jobs, being looked over for higher positions due to not being in the right physical bracket. Biasness and discrimination is also dished at them cause trauma and low confidence in them. The physiological effect of all the above; result in, massive depression and various mental problems (Stanford, 2012). Gout Gout is a joint disease caused due to the raised levels of uric acid in the blood stream. This excessive uric acid may form solid stone or crystal stone which deposits in the joints. This disease is mostly found in fat people and the risk runs higher with more excessive weight on a body, or should we say the chances of this disease is directly proportional to the excessive weight (Sims, 2012). Gallbladder Disease Gallbladder disease and gallstones are more probable to people who are overweight and the probability increases with the increase in obesity. Although this connection is not a well researched fact but this may be due to the difference of handling by the body system of excessive fat and cholesterol which is not supposed to be in one’s body. This actually leads to super saturation of bile which may cause gallbladder disease (Sims, 2012). Conclusion Healthy life is like gold, for which you have to work all your life. A healthy life is the only way one can negate the effects of being fat. Not gaining excessive weight in the only pre-emptive cure against these diseases. The time and money spent in the later part of the life can be saved if a little investment is done in the earlier part of life. There are certain cardio exercises even for the young which lead to a healthier life and reduce the risk of obesity in-turn reducing most of the diseases listed in this report. Excessive fat can not only be reduced by exercise but by also avoiding certain habits in our daily routine. Some of these habits are having more food than our body needs and the intake of excessive alcohol (A.D.A.M Inc, 2011). There are some simple indications that can flash warning signals about the danger you’re heading towards. Body Mass Index (BMI); being the easiest and straight forward method, which can be used in this regard. Hence, it can be easily concluded, that being fat, although is not a crime but it can lead a person into grave situations. Therefore living a balanced and healthy life will ensure a happy adulthood and risk free old age. References A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia (2011). Obesity- PubMed Health. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004552/ Sims, J. (2012). The Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/body_weight/obesity_health.htm Stanford Hospital and Clinics (2012). Health Effects of Obesity. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://stanfordhospital.org/clinicsmedServices/COE/surgicalServices/generalSurgery/bariatricsurgery/obesity/effects.html World Health Organization (2000) Obesity. Pg 6 Read More