Obesity Health Risks

The truth about Morbid Obesity

Obesity has a direct relationship to the development of heart disease in both men and women. This is due to the increased distribution of body fat. You are 3 times as likely to suffer from hypertension if you are obese compared to those whose weight falls within the normal range. The simple fact is that when your weight increases, so does your blood pressure.

Weight loss decreases risk factors

If you are more than 20% overweight then most likely your health would benefit greatly from losing weight. Experts in the area of morbid obesity believe that those who are less than 20% above a healthy weight range should still try to lose weight if they have any of the following risk factors:

• Family history of certain chronic diseases. People with close relatives who have had heart disease or diabetes are more likely to develop these problems if they are obese.
• Pre-existing medical conditions. High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or high blood sugar levels are all warning signs of some obesity-associated diseases.
• "Apple" shape. People whose weight is concentrated around their stomachs may be at greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, or cancer than people of the same weight who are "pear-shaped" (they carry their weight in their hips and buttocks).

Obesity shortens your life span

Morbid obesity is not just an issue of physical appearance; being significantly overweight is a serious hazard to your health. If you are 40% or more overweight, you are twice as likely to die prematurely as someone who is within a healthy weight range. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions, including:

• Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
• Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI)
• Daytime Sleepiness
• Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
• Diabetes (Type 2)
• End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD)
• Gallbladder Disease
• Gout
• Heat Disorders
• Hypertension
• Impaired Immune Response
• Impaired Respiratory Function
• Infections Following Wounds
• Infertility
• Liver Disease
• Low Back Pain
• Obstetric and Gynecologic Complications
• Pain from Morbid Obesity
• Pancreatitis from Morbid Obesity
• Sleep Apnea from Morbid Obesity
• Stroke from Morbid Obesity

• Urinary Stress Incontinence from Morbid Obesity

Winning the fight against obesity

There are no magic pills, no miracles in a bottle. The only way you have fighting chance of beating obesity is to change your lifestyle. No crash diet or miracle drug is going to cure what has now become an epidemic in the United States. The two best things you can do for yourself are 1) exercise on a regular basis and 2) control your caloric intake. Keep in mind that these factors are important for everyone, overweight or not, and regardless of whether or not you decide to have gastric bypass surgery or Lap Band surgery.

If you are interested in the gastric bypass procedure, please contact us to see if we can help.