What’s so bad about being overweight? Beside the fact that “the worse it gets, the worse it gets”, there are a number of medical conditions that are precipitated or worsened by obesity. Obesity affects every organ of the body in one way or another. Let’s look at a few of the major complications.

Cardiovascular Disease

Extra weight requires the heart to work harder because the additional fat tissue needs blood as surely as every other cell in the body. Therefore, the heart must pump more blood which means more pressure on the blood vessels leading to high blood pressure (hypertension). In addition, fat builds up in the blood vessels of the heart and can lead to heart attack or stroke.

Diabetes

Obesity interferes with the ability of the body to respond to insulin (the hormone which regulates blood sugar). As the insulin-glucose system becomes imbalanced, the blood sugar rises and diabetes, a chronic condition which may require medication or even insulin injections, develops.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is common among the obese. It is a combination of six risk factors conducive to the development of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. These components are: abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, blood changes which indicate inflammation, and elevated blood clotting factors.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition in which one stops breathing for periods of time while sleeping. This is caused by the weight of the obese chest on the respiratory system and is associated with high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. Read the rest of this entry »