Is obesity a public health issue?
Obesity is considered a top public health concern, due to the high level of morbidity and mortality in the United States [26]. It was reported that medical costs for obesity accounted for 40% of the healthcare budget in 2006.
What are the health risks of being obese or overweight?
Being overweight or obese can have a serious impact on health. Carrying extra fat leads to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).
How does obesity compared to other health issues?
The study reveals that obesity is linked to very high rates of chronic illnesses — higher than living in poverty, and much higher than smoking or drinking. Figure 1 compares the increase in chronic conditions related to obesity.
What causes extreme obesity?
The most probable contributing factors to obesity are genetic, psychological, environmental, social and cultural influences. Severe obesity is not caused by a lack of self control.
What can obesity lead to?
Consequences of Obesity
- All-causes of death (mortality)
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Coronary heart disease.
- Stroke.
- Gallbladder disease.
- Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)
What health problems can obesity lead to?
Obesity is a health concern. Without proper treatment, obesity can lead to other serious health problems, such as: osteoarthritis. heart disease and blood lipid abnormalities. stroke. type 2 diabetes. sleep apnea (when you periodically stop breathing during sleep) reproductive problems.
How does obesity impact your overall health?
People who are overweight or obese often have health problems that may increase the risk for heart disease. These health problems include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. In addition, excess weight may cause changes to your heart that make it work harder to send blood to all the cells in your body.
Why is obesity bad for Your Heart and overall health?
High blood pressure can strain your heart, damage blood vessels, and raise your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and death. Overweight and obesity may raise your risk for certain health problems such as high blood pressure. Heart disease is a term used to describe several problems that may affect your heart.
Is obesity the proximate cause of health problems?
Although obesity is a proximate cause of some health problems, it is also a consequence of other health conditions, poor diet, poverty, and so on. Obesity does not cause all the problems with which it is correlated, even when the association is strong, as with C-sections.