5 Severe Diseases Caused by Obesity and Weight Gain

In today’s world, self-love can often become an excuse for overindulgence when it comes to food and consequently lead to weight gain. But if you think that obesity is not a big deal, think again. It is a silent disease that comes with several severe complications including diabetes, certain cancers, and heart attacks.

Owing to our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, obesity is becoming highly prevalent in India. Easily accessible junk food, physical inactivity, and deskbound jobs are becoming some common causes of obesity.

With the rise in obesity rates, there is also a rise in the accompanying health complications. If not managed or treated on time, obesity-related complications can cause health issues like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, infertility, and the like in the long run.

Let’s learn about obesity and its related complications.

Obesity and Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes is one of the first risks associated with obesity. Studies show that people with obesity are at high risk of getting type 2 diabetes in the long run. The mechanism behind this connection depends upon the fat cells stored in your body.

Excess food intake stimulates metabolic cells and leads to chronic low-level inflammation. This inflammation may affect organs like the pancreas, brain, and liver. It can change the body’s responsiveness to insulin and affect the metabolism of fats and carbs.

As a result, these changes can cause high blood sugar levels, eventually causing diabetes. If you have obesity along with diabetes, consult a specialist for an obesity cure.

Obesity and Cardiovascular Diseases
You might have heard your doctor say keep your weight in control for a healthy heart. It is because your weight directly affects your heart health, and when it exceeds the healthy limit, it can impose the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart failure, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and the like.

With an increase in your BMI, the levels of blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (bad) cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides, and inflammation also rise. This increase affects the body’s composition and hemodynamics by altering the heart structure.

In conclusion, obesity may directly affect your cardiac function and can further promote atherosclerotic plaques. To improve your heart health, you can manage your weight with weight loss workouts and the right diet.

Obesity and Respiratory Issues
Strong links exist between Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA), obesity and cardiovascular issues. People with obesity have accumulated fat around their abdomen and chest.

This fat affects lung volume (the volume of air in your lungs during a respiratory cycle) and results in OSA issues like snoring, irregular breathing, gasping during sleep, and the like. Moreover, obstructive sleep apnoea, in turn, promotes obesity by inducing daytime sleepiness and changes in appetite.

Similarly, OSA has also been linked to cardiovascular issues by leading to pulmonary hypertension. The pharyngeal and submental fat leads to upper airway collapsibility and results in OSA. It leads to Hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen in the blood) and affects cardiac function.

 Obesity and Cancer
Studies show that patients with obesity account for almost 20% of cancer cases. There has been a link between obesity and cancers such as endometrium, colon, breast, kidney and oesophagus. This link is not as direct as other diseases because cancer is a complex disease, and a direct connection is still missing.

Besides, abdominal obesity and weight gain are risk factors for some cancers, according to past studies. Further, women that have excess weight are at high risk of developing breast cancer in the future.

Obesity and Infertility
Like other complications, obesity also affects fertility in men and women. The Nurses Health Study has shown lower infertility rates in women with BMI between 20 to 24 and high rates in those with higher BMIs or BMIs below 20.

Obesity also affects male fertility and results in low sperm count and erectile dysfunction. Similarly, most women with obesity have a high chance of miscarriages.

Obesity increases the risk of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), a hormonal disorder that is a common cause of infertility in women.

In such cases, weight loss workouts and a customized diet for obesity is the first treatment recommended for both men and women.

Other Obesity-Related Complications
The list of obesity-related diseases does not end here. Some other risks include:

• High mortality rates: Due to increased risk of serious diseases like diabetes, heart failure and cancers.
• Autoimmune Diseases: Obesity directly induces dysregulated immune systems and promotes several infections.
• Gastrointestinal Diseases: Metabolic mechanism related to increased BMI causes inflammation and scarring of the liver. It results in common liver problems like NASH and NAFLD.
• Kidney Diseases: People with increased BMI are at high risk of impaired renal function.
• Psychosocial issues: People with obesity, especially women, face public disapproval, discrimination and stigma in society.
• Osteoarthritis: Excess body weight puts pressure on your knees and increases the chances of developing Knee

In conclusion, ignoring gradual weight gain can put you at risk of some severe health complications. Obesity Control is one of the best ways to decrease the risk of such diseases. Studies have proved that even the slightest weight loss can lower your chances of developing obesity-related complications.

To effectively treat obesity, follow the right lifestyle management tips. You can start maintaining your weight by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Remember, today’s weight gain can cause severe health issues tomorrow.

If you live with obesity or experience weight gain, visit an obesity treatment centre and consult a specialist.

References:  

• Carbone S et al, Obesity paradox in cardiovascular disease: where do we stand? Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2019 May 1;15:89-100.
• Al-Goblan AS et al, Mechanism linking diabetes mellitus and obesity. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2014 Dec 4;7:587-91.
• Daniels SR. Complications of obesity in children and adolescents. Int J Obes (Lond). 2009 Apr;33 Suppl 1:S60-5.
• Kinlen D et al, Complications of obesity. QJM. 2018 Jul 1;111(7):437-443