Complications of Obesity: Why Obesity is Bad
Updated on March 19, 2009
Obesity is like smoking tobacco. Smoking the cigarette doesn't kill you right away. It doesn't even kill you directly. It causes a variety of complications that bring you to your doom.
The following list contains the common complications of obesity. This list is probably going to scare you, and it should. It's long and full of unpleasant things. If you don't get control of your obesity, you could likely end up with one or more of these complications.
Cancer (kills 559,312 people per year)
Some cancers seem to be strongly influenced by body weight while others seem to appear even in healthy people. The development of cancer is also influenced by environmental carcinogens. There is debate and ongoing studies to determine which cancers are affected by obesity. Nevertheless, most doctors agree that obesity, an unhealthy diet, and lack of adequate exercise significantly contributes to cancer, complications of cancer, and complications in cancer treatments.
Arteriosclerosis: Hardening of the Arteries
Arteriosclerosis is the hardening of the arteries caused by the buildup of a hard plaque on the walls of arteries. The plaque is composed of fat, cholesterol, and other materials. The plaque buildup causes arteries to narrow and lose flexibility making it more difficult for the blood to flow through them. Eventually, the plaque can block the artery completely, causing blood flow to stop.
Arteriosclerosis can lead to...
- limb pain (e.g. arms or legs)
- chest pain (i.e. angina)
- heart attack
- stroke
- organ damage (e.g. kidney damage, liver damage, digestive organ damage)
Hypertension: High Blood Pressure (kills 24,902 people per year)
Blood pressure is a measurement of how forcefully blood pushes on the walls of the arteries. The systolic number (the top number) measures the force while the heart contracts and squeezes the blood through the vascular system. The diastolic number (the bottom number) measures the force while the heart is resting between beats. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is when the force on your blood vessels is too strong for your blood vessels to handle. This excessive pressure damages your your circulatory system, which eventually damages other parts of your body, sometimes gradually, sometimes rapidly.
High blood pressure may lead to...
- heart attack
- heart failure
- stroke
- kidney failure
- hardening of the arteries
- vision damage or blindness
- depression
Heart Attack (kills 151,004 people per year)
A heart attack happens when your heart doesn't get enough blood, usually because of a blockage in the coronary arteries caused by a blood clot or by plaque building up in the arteries. This lack of blood flow to the heart causes...
- arrhythmias (i.e. changes in heart beat, skipping beats, racing pulse)
- angina (i.e. chest pain, may also be middle/upper back pain)
- feeling pressure in or around the chest
- shortness of breath
- coughing
- indigestion
- nausea
- lack of oxygen to the brain (e.g. lightheadedness, fainting)
- sweating
- death
Stroke (kills 143,579 people per year)
A stroke is a sudden loss of blood to part of the brain. It may be caused by a rupture in a blood vessel in the brain (i.e. brain hemmorage, bleeding in the brain), or by something blocking the blood from getting through the blood vessels (e.g. blood clot, embolism). The complications of a stroke vary depending on which part of the brain is affected. It may cause...
- sudden numbness or tingling, especially on one side of the body or face
- sudden weakness, especially on one side of the body or face
- sudden paralysis (i.e. inability to move), especially on one side of the body or face
- sudden loss of coordination (e.g. difficulty writing, moving body parts smoothly, walking, controlling eye movements, swallowing)
- sudden changes in speech (e.g. slurred speech, stuttering)
- sudden loss of balance (e.g. trouble walking, dizziness)
- sudden changes in vision in one or both eyes
- sudden headache
- sudden confusion, disorientation, or memory loss
- sudden changes in personality or mood (e.g. aggression, sadness, fear, extreme bliss)
- sudden inability to speak, write, draw symbols, or understand language (spoken or written)
- sudden drowsiness or loss of consciousness
- death
Heart Failure (kills 58,933 people per year)
Heart failure is the weakening of the heart, so it is unable to pump blood efficiently through the body. This causes blood flow to slow down. Since the heart must work harder, it may beat faster or grow larger to compensate for it's weakness. The blood vessels may also constrict to keep blood pressure up. Eventually, though, the heart can't keep up with the demands of the body. This can lead to...
- arrhythmias (i.e. changes in heart beat, skipping beats, racing pulse)
- lack of blood to the brain (causing fainting, light-headedness, dizziness)
- lack of blood to muscles organs (causing fatigue, weakness)
- lack of blood to skin (i.e. paleness)
- edema (i.e. build up of fluids in body tissues, swelling of body parts like legs, feet, hands, abdomen)
- build up of sodium in the body (causing confusion, impaired thinking, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, disorientation, decreased alertness)
- difficulty breathing from fluid filling the lungs (causing shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, bloody mucus, chest pain when breathing),
- digestion problems from fluid filling the digestive tract or by lack of blood directed to the digestive tract (causing indigestion, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite)
- death
Diabetes (kill 75,119 people per year)
Diabetes is a condition in which the body can't metabolize sugars correctly, resulting in high blood sugar (glucose) levels. The inability to process the sugars comes from the pancreas not producing enough insulin or the cells of the body becoming resistant to high levels of insulin or a combination of both problems.
Diabetes may lead to...
- blurred vision or blindness
- excessive thirst
- frequent urination
- fatigue
- hunger
- weight loss (even though you're eating more)
- build up of toxic acids called ketones (i.e. ketoacidosis)
which causes...- nausea and vomiting
- dry skin
- difficulty breathing
- fruity breath
- confusion and difficulty concentrating
- coma
- death
- hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS)
which causes...- severe dehydration
- coma
- death
- depression
- poor circulation
which causes...- thickening skin
- tissue death, requiring amputation
- numbness
- nerve damage
which causes...- tingling and numbness, usually in hands and feet
- pain, usually in hands and feet
- loss of nerve signals to digestive tract, causing food to slow or stop moving through the digestive system (i.e. gastroparesis)
- loss of bladder control
- dizziness or fainting
- changes in how your eyes react to bright lights or darkness
- sexual dysfunction
- increased risk of...
- gum disease
- bacterial infection
- fungal infection
- rashes
- allergic reactions
- ulcers
- blister
Osteoarthritis
Ostoarthritis is a painful condition in which joints become inflamed and bones rub together rather than being cushioned by connective tissue. The pain makes it difficult to use the joint affected. So if the affected joints are the knees, hips, ankles, etc. the patient will find it very difficult to walk. If the joints affected are in the hands, the patient will have difficult time doing activities like writing or typing. In obese people, the strain of the excess weight can cause or contribute to the inflammation and pain, making it more difficult for them to conduct daily activities, and exercise may seem impossible, creating a downward spiral of less exercise and more weight gain leading to increased pain and immobility and decreased quality of life.Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person stops breathing or have difficulty breathing while they are sleeping. In obese people, sleep apnea is caused or made worse by increased weight on the neck and chest, putting pressure on the respiratory system and blocking airways.
Sleep apnea can lead to...
- headaches
- loud snoring
- leg swelling
- sleep deprivation
which can cause...- confusion
- difficulty concentrating
- mood swings
- loss of motor skills
- drowsiness while awake
- falling asleep in dangerous situations
- increased risk of accident, including fatal accidents
- depression
- increased risk of diabetes
- increased risk of heart attack
- increased risk of hypertension
- pulmonary hypertension (i.e. narrowing of the arteries of the lungs which leads to heart failure)
- death by suffocation while you sleep
Gallstones
Gallstones are rock or marble like crystals (often made of bile).
Gallstones can cause...
- acute pain in the upper right side of the abdomen (near the liver)
- indigestion and nausea
- light colored stool
- jaundice (i.e. yellowing of the skin and eyes)
- infection
- clogged bile ducts
- gallstone pancreatitis (which can lead to a variety of other serious problems)
- death
Sources: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_10.pdf
Related Items
Similar topics
See other Kristen's Guide topics in this category.
Ways to Stay Motivated to Lose Weight (aka How to Get Motivated to Lose Weight, Diet, and Exercise)