Written By: Pavitra Sampath | Updated: May 3, 2016, 5:36 PM
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Being overweight or obese is not only something that can affect the way you look, but can also harm your health. Here are 16 ways obesity can harm you.
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Could be the cause of clinical depression, anxiety and other mental disorders: According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, conducted over three decades on women found that obesity and other mental health conditions were closely related. The study found that a BMI greater than or equal to 30, significantly increased the odds of women suffering from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) by 6.27 and 5.25 times respectively. Yet another study published in Archives of general psychiatry, found a definite link between obesity and depression. Stating that obesity increased the risk of a person suffering from depression.
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Leads to fertility and menstrual problems: Due to the excess weight and fat tissue, your body tries to compensate for their presence by releasing hormones (wither higher amounts or lower amounts) this tends to affect your reproductive organs too. Women who are obese often have trouble conceiving, may have menstrual disturbances and could also suffer from PCOD or PCOS.
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Leads to snoring and sleep apnoea: Obesity is a cause for snoring and sleep apnoea. This is because all the excess fat around your chest, neck and face tends to press down on your wind pipe when you lie down, which restricts your breathing -- which is why you snore. But that's not all, due to the lack of air entering your body when you sleep, you will tend suffer from disturbed sleep and insomnia. Apart from that this also tends to stress your heart and lungs making you prone to lung and heart related ailments.
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Affects you skin's texture: When you are obese your hormones tend to malfunction which in turn affects your skin too. Obesity not only stretches your skin making it more prone to common infections but it also leads to less blood flow to the layer of your skin which causes it to thicken and darken (a condition known as acanthosis nigricans). Apart from that it can also lead to the formation of ulcers, especially along the lower limbs -- known as a condition stasis dermatitis and acne.
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Puts you at risk of suffering from diabetes: Even moderate obesity can put you at a much greater risk of suffering from Type 2 diabetes. This is because excess fat in your body makes your body resistant to insulin (a hormone that aids in the breakdown of sugars) which leads to diabetes.
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Affects the functioning of your lungs: With all the pressure present around your lungs, it tends to push down on the organs and lead decreased lung function. This not only stresses your lungs to work better, but it also causes your other organs to function less optimally due to the lack of oxygen.
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may be the reason for poor body image: In today's day and age when being thin is what is considered beautiful being obese can affect your body image and the way you think of yourself.
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Could cause gall stones: Being obese also affects the functioning of your gall bladder -- the organ that is responsible for storing bile. But if there is too much fat in your body it tends to form stones in your bladder due to the excessive cholesterol in your blood.
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Can cause generalised body pain and fatigue: According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity people who were obese often had niggling aches and pains coupled with generalised fatigue. Thought to be due to the stress that their bodies were under due to the excess weight, this is a fairly common ailment caused due to obesity.
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Leads to elevated cholesterol levels: High cholesterol levels are closely linked to obesity. The excess fat in your body coupled with an unhealthy diet can wreak havoc with your cholesterol levels putting you at risk of suffering from various diseases like heart disease, atherosclerosis and stroke.
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Puts you at risk of suffering from cancer: Obesity puts you at risk of suffering from various cancers especially colon cancer. Apart from that obese women have been found to be more prone to breast cancer, gall bladder cancer, and uterine cancer. While obese men tend to be more prone to colon and prostate cancer.
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Affects your brain's functioning: A study published in the journal Neuroepidemiology found that obesity can adversely affect your brain too. They found that obesity tends to degrade the white matter sheath (the outer covering of the nerves in your brain) reducing neural impulses.
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Can lead to heart disease: When there is excess fat in your body, it tends to also become an integral part of all the components of your blood. This leads to deposition of this fat leading to hardening of your arteries and blocking them. Leading to conditions like heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis.
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Puts you at risk of suffering from a stroke: The risk of suffering from a stroke increases with an increase in your BMI (Body Mass Index). This is because being overweight or obese can lead to a build-up of plaque in your arteries which might eventually rupture and lead to the formation of a blood clot. If this clot is present in your brain it can block the flow of blood to the area in your brain and cause a stroke.
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Can be a cause for high blood pressure: Additional fatty tissue in the body needs blood supply to sustain. This is where your heart gets overworked. All the extra blood vessels not only need your heart to work more but they also put a lot of pressure on the walls of your arteries, weakening them. Apart from that excess weight also affects your body's ability to circulate oxygentated blood effectively.
