Know the Health Effects of Obesity

These are not just physical health effects but those in the realm of emotional and mental health as well. When you suffer from obesity, you are at risk of the following problems. Read them closely and find the motivation to do things to shake off unwanted weight.

Physical Problems
When you consistently put on too many pounds, you will more than likely experience the negative physical health effects of obesity. Some of the more serious ones include:

• High blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is 120 over 80. When the top-level reading (systolic pressure) exceeds 140 or the lower-level reading (diastolic pressure) exceeds 90 then you are looking at a condition known as hypertension commonly called high blood pressure. This condition is one of the effects of obesity that can lead to stroke, kidney failure, and heart disease.

• Type 2 diabetes. This is one of the effects of obesity caused by high blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. You are looking at a myriad of other conditions to include heart disease, limb amputation, the onset of blindness, and kidney disease.

• Heart disease. This is a general classification of several conditions related to the effects of obesity and problems with the heart or the blood vessels that take blood to it. A person with heart disease can have problems such as narrow, hardened, and in some cases blocked arteries which could lead to a heart attack and/or death. Other problems related to heart disease include heart rhythm that is abnormal and angina.

• Fatty liver disease. Your liver can be damaged when fat builds up around it. If it is allowed to continue to build up it could lead to the potentially fatal condition of cirrhosis or outright liver failure.

These conditions, once they begin to manifest themselves as the effects of obesity, are quite difficult if not impossible to reverse. There are also other conditions but the most serious are listed here.

Emotional and Mental Difficulties

You might ask how emotional and mental difficulties can be classified among the health effects of obesity. It is simply because your outlook and emotional state has an indirect effect on your physical health.

• Too much stress is related to high blood pressure
• Eating “comfort” foods loaded with sugar can lead to Type 2 Diabetes
• Smoking to relieve stress leads to heart disease
• Heavy drinking to cheer up eventually leads to fatty liver disease

Furthermore, when you add on pounds because of emotional and mental difficulties, it sinks you further into theeffects of obesity because you become discouraged at efforts to lose weight.

To counteract the health effects of obesity, it is important to get proper nutrition, rest, and exercise. However the benefits of these can be negated without practicing habits that improve emotional and mental health. The two areas work hand-in-hand.