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What Are the Health Risks of Being Obese?

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Being overweight poses lots of health challenges. It increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Weight management in Lady Lake may help you avoid many health problems and live a long, healthy life.

Health Problems that are Associated with Obesity

  • Sleep apnea
  • Strokes
  • Heart disease
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Some types of cancer
  • Pregnancy complications
  • Kidney disease
  • Osteoarthritis

Are You Overweight?

Putting on a few extra pounds is normal. It does not necessarily mean that you are overweight. The best way to tell if you weigh too much is through your Body Mass Index. It measures your weight in consideration of your height. If you are obese, your BMI will be 30 or more. A BMI of 26-29.9 means that you are overweight while that of 18.5-24.9 is normal. 

The size of your waist may also be an effective measure of obesity. If you have excessive fat around your waist, you are at increased risk of getting certain health problems. On average, the waist size of a woman should be 35 inches. Men should have a waist size of 40 inches. If yours is wider, you probably need to lose some weight. 

1. Heart Disease

This is one of the biggest health concerns associated with obesity or excessive weight. There are different types of heart disease. However, the most common one is when blood vessels transporting blood to the heart become too hard and narrow. If you have this type of heart disease, your heart may not be receiving as much blood as it needs. 

 

If you are overweight, your heart may be working harder than usual to transport blood to all your body cells. You may be at risk of contracting diseases that lead to heart problems. Some of them include high blood sugar and high cholesterol. 

Losing weight may improve your blood flow, reduce cholesterol levels, and regulate your blood pressure. It may help you lower your risk of heart disease. 

2. Cancer

Excessive weight is associated with some types of cancer. You can get cancer when cells in a certain part of the body grow abnormally. 

The cells in that organ may spread to other areas. 

It isn’t clear how being overweight increases your risk of cancers such as;

  • Kidney
  • Rectum 
  • Colon
  • Breast
  • Gallbladder

Weight management prevents your risk of certain cancers especially if you are older. Adopt healthy eating habits and exercise regularly.

3. Stroke

You can get a stroke if the blood flow in a specified part of the brain stops. As a result, brain cells in that area will die. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. You can get it if there is a blood clot in your artery. The clot will prevent the flow of blood to your brain. 

 

Being overweight is linked to strokes since it may cause high blood pressure which is the main cause of strokes. The most effective way to prevent stroke is by preventing high blood pressure.

 

If you are overweight or obese, work with a weight management professional to attain a healthy weight. It may help you avoid lots of health complications.

 

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