Just about every organ of the body works less well when you're overweight. Here are the major health problems associated with being over-fat.
- Increased cardiovascular disease. With excess body fat comes higher levels of blood
lipids: cholesterol, LDL (the "bad" cholesterol), and total triglyceride levels all increase,
while HDL ("good" cholesterol) decreases. These lipid levels lead to bad things for your
cardiovascular system. The incidence of high blood pressure also rises when you're
overweight.
Promotes diabetes. Excess fat reduces the efficiency of insulin. As a
result, the pancreas needs to produce more insulin and may eventually wear out, leading to
diabetes.
Psychological and emotional problems. Being overweight definitely affects the psycho-
social development of the child and adolescent. Our society places less value on fat people.
Our culture rewards leanness and penalizes fatness, particularly in women. Studies have
shown that obese children are more likely to develop a poor self-image and low self-esteem.
They are prone to social isolation and, because they compete poorly in athletics, often choose
more sedentary activities, which further increase their weight. Obesity is not just a problem
of the body, but also the mind. Obsession with weight and becoming thin presents its own
problems, as the anorexia issue confirms.
Sleep disturbances, namely sleep apnea. A study showed that thirty-three percent of
severely obese persons had sleep apnea and severe enough breathing
problems during sleep to cause restlessness at night and interfere with the ability to work and
think the following day.
Orthopedic problems. Especially in growing children and adolescents, increased weight
bearing on the hips and knee bones tends to cause bowed legs, to the
extent that the leg bones are more likely to slip out of the hip bones (a condition called
slipped femoral epiphysis). Arthritis is more common in obese persons. Losing weight
eases the workload for arthritic joints.
More infections. One study showed that fat babies get twice as many infections as slim
babies. Another study demonstrated that the ability of white blood cells to fight infection is
reduced in obese persons.
Increase in other health problems: Gallstones, headaches, kidney problems, colon cancer -
- the risk of nearly all diseases goes up when you're overfat.
Medical studies show that leaner people live longer. Get lean for life and you'll enjoy life
longer.
