8 Deadly Threats Due To Being Overweight
Being overweight is not just a cosmetic problem. Not only does it cause problems in your life, it also causes severe health problems that are life threatening. Overweight adults are at risk of several deadly health problems. These conditions are described here in order to make people aware of the dangers of being overweight.
Table of Contents
Heart Disease
When your body mass index increases, it creates the risks for heart disease. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is often caused by obesity. This condition causes plaque (a kind of waxy substance) to build up inside the coronary arteries. This plaque blocks and/or narrows the coronary arteries, which in turn, reduces the blood flow to the heart muscles.
Being overweight also can be the cause of heart failure. In obese conditions, the heart cannot pump enough to meet the body’s needs.
High Blood Pressure
When the heart pumps, the force or pressure of blood pushes against the arteries walls. If blood pressure increases, the body can be damaged in many ways. There is a very high chance of developing high blood pressure if you are overweight.
Stroke
Your arteries may be full of plaque if you are overweight. The plaque buildup can cause a blood clot. If the clot develops near your brain, it can block the blood and oxygen supply to your brain and cause a stroke. Stroke is a severely debilitating result if obesity is left unchecked.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a type of disease that causes the body sugar, or body glucose, to increase to a very high level. Normally after eating food, your body breaks down the food to glucose which gets converted to body energy. The body uses a hormone, called insulin, which turns the glucose to energy. With diabetes, the body cells don’t receive insulin in the proper amount, so the sugar increases inside the body’s cells.
Diabetes has several types. In Type 2 diabetes, the body cannot use insulin properly to convert it to energy. In some cases, the body just cannot induce the proper amount of insulin, so the sugar level becomes uncontrolled.
The main cause for diabetes is being overweight. Diabetes may cause several diseases like CHD, early death, stroke, and other conditions.
Blood Fat Abnormality
If you are overweight, you are at risk of blood fat abnormality. This abnormality increases the high level of LDL cholesterol and reduces the HDL cholesterol. LDL is bad cholesterol, and HDL is good cholesterol. The abnormal body fat increases the risk of CHD. Being overweight is the main cause for blood fat abnormality.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is not a single disease; it is a risk group of several diseases including heart diseases, diabetes, stroke, and other health problems. If you have at least three of the following factors, you are in a risk of metabolic syndrome.
- Abnormal weight or obesity, having extra fat on different parts of the body
- Higher blood fat level
- Lower levels of HDL in the blood
- Higher blood pressure than normal
- Higher blood sugar during fasting times.
Having any three of these symptoms can lead to metabolic syndrome, and these risks may only increase with added weight.
Cancer
Overweight may increase the risk of breast, colon, endometrial and several other types of cancer.
Sleeping Disorders and Sleep Apnea
Obesity causes sleeping disorders. Sleep apnea is one such disorder that makes your breath stop and start off and on during sleep. This problem is caused by extra fat on the neck, which makes it hard to breath.
All of these life-threatening diseases are caused by being overweight. You need to be concern about the risks. Maintaining weight does not have to be a big deal. Just living a stress-free life with a regular workout schedule to keep your body fit will help you maintain a normal weight and avoid all of these diseases.