Being overweight- do you know the risks and dangers?

While a few extra kilo’s may do no harm, as soon as the weight of a person starts to venture off into the ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ danger zones, it’s suddenly not only weight that they are gaining, but a whole lot of dangerous health risks as well.

In our physical-appearance-obsessed society and an overt fascination with thinness we tend to unintentionally focus on the appearance aspect of being obese, as if, the only reason one might not want to be overweight is because it is not deemed “ideal” in the appearance stakes.

“In our line of work, it has very little to do with “looks” and a whole lot to do with what is going on beneath the surface!” Lisa Cutforth

In reality, it’s what is going on inside an obese body that is the real problem.  If beauty is skin deep, obesity and being overweight is certainly not.  With being overweight and obesity come disease and lifestyle implications, mental health problems and social problems.

Diseases associated with being overweight/obese include:

1.     Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

Heart disease kills 1 in 6 Australians, equaling to one Australian every 12 minutes [1]. It involves heart, stroke and blood vessel diseases including heart attack and heart disease. These diseases can develop over a long period of time and can easily cause death or impact greatly on quality of life.  CVD is easily prevented. The major risk factors for CVD include overweight/obesity, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure, an unhealthy diet, smoking and excess alcohol consumption. If you take away these risk factors then you a have a pretty low risk of developing CVD.

2.     Diabetes

Being overweight can in itself cause type 2 diabetes and can also exasperate the complications of people who already have diabetes. Your chances of developing type 2 diabetes are dependent on how overweight you are and how long you have been overweight for. The complications of diabetes are not nice: blindness, lower limb amputations and kidney failure are just a few of them. If you are pregnant, you want to make sure that you are eating a healthy diet for you and your baby. Making sure that you don’t put on too much extra weight will also decrease your chances of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy. While most cases of gestational diabetes go away soon after you give birth, it does increase your chances of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.

3.     Cancer

Studies have continuously shown the positive and dangerous relationship between obesity and cancer [2, 3]. Overweight and obese people not only have an increased risk of getting cancer but they also have lower survival rates. Excess adipose tissue definitely plays a role in offsetting the body’s natural hormone balance which can make it easier for cancer tumours to find little homes in the body. However, regular physical activity and a healthy diet can easily reduce your risk of cancer.

4.     Infertility

Hormone imbalances and disruptions to ovulation are just some of the ways that excess, unnecessary weight can affect your fertility. Poly-cystic ovary syndrome is a common cause of infertility in many women and is strongly associated with obesity. So, to increase your chances of getting pregnant, lower your risks of pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes and to ensure that you have a healthy happy baby, make sure you are eating a balanced diet and are doing regular physical activity. This goes for the men as well!

Lifestyle implications of being overweight/obese include:

·       Sleep disturbances

·       Back pain

·       Lower energy levels

·       May be susceptible to discrimination and/or depression

We don’t say all this to alarm, unfortunately there is a body of ignorance out there, that seems to underestimate the importance of nutrition, and healthy lifestyle factors and markers.

The major risk factor for these diseases as well as obesity is an unhealthy diet, if you don’t know where to start, start there.

(Please speak to our nutritionist or one of our team if you would like some health in losing weight healthily or if you need specific dietary advice.)

References:

[1] Heart Foundation. (2015). Data and Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/information-for-professionals/data-and-statistics/Pages/default.aspx

[2] Pergola, G., & Silvestris, F. (2013). Obesity as a major risk factor for cancer. Journal of Obesity. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3773450/

[3] Arnold, M et.al. (2015). Global burden of cancer attributable to high body-mass index in 2012: a population-based study. Lancet Oncology. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(14)71123-4