The impact of obesity extends far beyond its physical appearance, posing significant risks to our overall health and well-being.
By understanding these effects, we can make informed choices and take proactive steps to address this pervasive issue. In this blog post, we will delve into the”impacts of obesity” and explore its multifaceted consequences on our lives.
Obesity is now become a concern for a lot of physicians and medical researchers because it is a leading cause of many health issues.
Obesity may sound like a simple word, but it is covering many complex pathologies underneath. People take obesity-like conditions as a norm in their lives, which then leads to serious life-risking problems.
This behavior of people is because of their lack of knowledge about the impact of obesity on the human body. That’s why we gathered some authentic information here; on one of the leading health concerns called “obesity”.
What Is Obesity?
Obesity is a condition that negatively impacts your health simply by the accumulation of fats. Many parameters will help you find the degree of obesity, but the most accurate one is BMI.
BMI is the Body Mass Index which is based on body weight and height.
Roughly speaking, when your weight is more according to your height – it means you are overweight. A BMI greater than 30 will indicate you have obesity, and you should take strict action against it.
Some other factors like general appearance, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist-to-height ratio will also define your obesity.
Taking a more fat-rich diet and doing little to no exercise will lead to the accumulation of stubborn fat under your skin. This fat has the strength to make your life worse and decrease life expectancy.
For More Details Read: ADDRESSING TRAUMA-OBESITY TOWARDS WEIGHT LOSS
Impacts of Obesity- Finding Causes
Intake Of Calories Rich Food
The human body uses fat as a source of energy to do daily activities. If a person consumes more fat according to the energy requirement, then fat starts to accumulate in the body.
With the passing of time, fat built up leads to obesity. Foods that are high in fat and sugar content lead to the development of obesity. There are two types of fats; one is trans fat, and the other is cis fat.
Trans fat is harmful to your body and can cause many health problems. Trans fat is converted into bad cholesterol in your body and increases the risk of cardiac diseases.
These fats are mostly present in fast foods, including burgers, pizzas, pasta, and popcorn. On the other hand, cis fats are saturated fats that are not harmful to the human body.
These fats are converted into good cholesterol that is necessary to fulfill the energy requirements of the body. Cis fats are present in nuts, fish, and olives.
Sometimes people who eat only healthy food can also gain weight, the reason behind this is their genetics. The metabolic system also plays a great role in weight gain.
People with great metabolic rates tend to be smart because they burn more fat. While people with low metabolic rates tend to be overweight even with a normal diet.
High Sugar Intake
Many of you may be unaware of the effects of sugar on your body’s metabolism. Unfortunately, sugar, especially fructose, does not have good effects on your metabolism.
Fructose decreases fat metabolism, which leads to the accumulation of fat in the liver. According to a study in 2012, there is a strong association between fructose and metabolic syndrome.
A metabolic syndrome is a group of diseases that severely affects your metabolism, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases.
People who are obese have more risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Another animal study in 2018 shows the effect of fructose on liver metabolism. This study shows visible metabolic changes, oxidative stress, and inflammation in animals taking fructose-rich syrups.
Hormonal Disruption
Hormones imbalance can lead to weight gain. The disruption in the thyroid hormone, which is mostly a decrease in thyroid hormone or hypothyroidism, leads to weight gain.
Hypothyroidism decreases the metabolism, which leads to fat accumulation. Moreover, androgen, especially estrogen in women, can also cause weight gain.
The weight gain that results from hormonal disruption is difficult to lose and maintain. You need proper medication along with a healthy lifestyle to balance your hormones.
Impacts Of Obesity
Early Effects Of Obesity
The weight of a single fat cell is very little – less than one microgram but together all the fat cells can increase human body weight up to many kilograms.
The fat will accumulate in your limbs and surrounding your organs that make you sluggish. Soon it becomes difficult to perform any task efficiently and effectively.
Following are some early effects of obesity on the human body:
- Frequent increase in blood pressure
- Breathlessness while doing any activity
- Extreme fatigue
- Pain and inflammation in joints
- Malaise and physical discomfort
- Problems related to gastrointestinal track
- Body aches and headaches
The worst effect of obesity on your body is the inability to perform daily activities due to fatigue. The less you move, the more fat will accumulate, and hence this vicious cycle continues.
Moreover, the excessive fat will exert an extra amount of force on your weight-bearing joint, including hip and knee joints. So, these joints are badly affected by obesity and further decrease your mobility.
Late Effects Of Obesity
With time the short-term effects will worsen and result in some chronic, life-threatening problems. There are a lot of diseases that are rooted in obesity.
Let’s take a look at these diseases and embrace you to the world of reality:
- Hypertension is high blood pressure which results when fat accumulates in the arteries and narrowed the lumen.
- Type 2 Diabetes is mostly genetic, but obesity increases the risk of getting diabetes early in life.
- Stroke, which results when the fatty plaques block the vessels of the brain. When there is no blood supply to the brain, the brain cell starts to die.
- Osteoarthritis, the weight of the body, put pressure on joints and makes them inflamed and painful.
- Pulmonary condition like bronchitis, bronchiectasis, and emphysema can also results from obesity.
- When fat accumulates in the liver, it results in fatty liver disease. This disease is more common in alcoholics.
- Depression due to lack of activity, poor results in studies, and social isolation.
- A recent study in 2023 defines a clear association between obesity and cancers of the gallbladder, colon, breast, kidney, pancreas, and liver.
Conclusion
Obesity has a clear negative impact on the human body. It is the primary and secondary cause of many life-threatening diseases like diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, stroke, cancers, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
You should keep track of what you eat and how many calories you burn in a day. This will help you to live a long and healthy life.
