The Deleterious Health Effects of Excess Weight
Weight and Your Health Struggles
The Impact of Overweight on One's Health Condition
Carrying extra pounds isn't just about an increased weight; it's about a far greater risk of serious health issues. People who are obese or overweight face a significant hike in the likelihood of developing numerous health problems, from heart disease, strokes, and cancer to depression. But here's the good news: losing weight can help reduce your odds of succumbing to these conditions.
The Health-Weight Correlation
If you're struggling with obesity, you're facing a considerably higher-than-average risk (over 50 different health issues, to be exact) that include major causes of death such as heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer, as well as less frequent ailments like gout and gallstones. Moreover, there's a strong link between depression and excess weight, given that this kind of mood disorder can have a profound, negative impact on your daily life.
Research from both the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Nurses' Health Study revealed some striking statistics regarding both weight and health. Participants provided their weight, height, dietary, and lifestyle information, while their medical histories were documented. During the study's duration (over a decade), illnesses were noted based on each participant's body mass index (BMI).
Obesity enhances the risk of diabetes by a significant 20-fold and considerably raises the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and gallstones. There's a direct correlation between BMI and the likelihood of disease, as higher BMI levels translate to a higher chance of health problems.
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Excess Weight and Depression
Is it weight gain that causes depression or is it the other way around? A review of 15 studies found that both scenarios are plausible. The study, published in 2010 in the Archives of General Psychiatry (now known as JAMA Psychiatry), showed that overweight individuals have a 55% higher risk of developing depression. Below are some reasons for the link between obesity and depression:- Brain chemistry and function alterations: Both depression and obesity seem to stem, at least partially, from modifications in brain chemistry and function in response to stress.- Psychological factors: In our current society, thin equates to beautiful, and being overweight can result in diminished self-esteem, a known depression trigger.- Disordered eating patterns and eating disorders: Being obese can lead to odd eating behaviors and eating disorders that foster depression.- Physical discomfort: The physical discomfort associated with being overweight can also contribute to depression.
The same study also revealed that depressed individuals have a 58% higher risk of becoming obese. Potential explanations for the connection between depression and obesity include:- Cortisol levels: Elevated levels of this stress hormone (common among depressed individuals) may alter substances in fat cells to facilitate fat accumulation in the belly area.- Unhealthy lifestyle choices: Depressed individuals may eat improperly and engage in inadequate exercise, leading to weight gain.- Medication side effects: Medications for depression can trigger weight gain and metabolic changes.
Sleep Apnea: The Hidden Threat of Snoring
If you tend to snore loudly and pause your breathing numerous times during the night, potentially waking up with a snort or choke, you likely have sleep apnea - a common condition that is more common among individuals who are obese or overweight.
Although bedmates are typically the first to notice these signs, you may not. People with sleep apnea don't usually become fully conscious during sleep interruptions, but these awakenings can harm sleep quality, leading to daytime fatigue, increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes.
Weight, Heart Disease, and Stroke
Some of the problems frequently linked to excess weight, such as high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels, tend to occur together and can lead to concurrent health issues like heart disease and stroke.
High blood pressure is roughly six times more common among obese individuals than among lean individuals. A 2007 study in Archives of Internal Medicine found that being overweight increases the risk of heart disease by 32% and obesity increases the risk by 81%, with overweight making an independent contribution to heart disease risk even after the adverse effects of high blood pressure and cholesterol levels have been accounted for.
Compared to individuals with a healthy weight, overweight individuals face a 22% higher risk of stroke. Obesity increases the risk by 64%, in accordance with a 2010 report in the Journal of Stroke.
Weight and Diabetes
Obesity and diabetes are so closely intertwined that experts have coined the term "diabesity" to describe this phenomenon. Around 90% of people with type 2 diabetes (the most common form of the condition) are obese or overweight. The incidence of diabetes skyrocketed by nearly 65% from 1996 to 2006.
High blood sugar levels (a characteristic of diabetes) are one of the features of metabolic syndrome. If left untreated or improperly managed, diabetes can lead to severe complications, such as kidney failure, blindness, and foot or leg amputations. Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
Weight and Cancer
Some experts believe that obesity ranks as the second leading cause of cancer death, after cigarette smoking.
An American Cancer Society study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, followed over 900,000 individuals for 16 years. The study found a link between excess body weight and numerous different cancers. Key findings include:- Among individuals aged 50 and older, overweight and obesity might account for 14% of all cancer deaths in men and 20% of all cancer deaths in women.- In both men and women, increased BMIs were associated with a higher risk of dying from cancer of the esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, or kidney.- In men, excess weight also boosted the risk of dying from stomach or prostate cancer.- In women, deaths from breast, uterus, cervix, or ovary cancer were more likely in women with higher BMIs.
A 2008 review article in The Lancet reached similar conclusions. Part of the problem might lie in the fact that overweight individuals are less likely to undergo cancer screening tests such as Pap smears and mammograms.
A study in The International Journal of Obesity indicated that the larger the woman, the more likely she is to put off having a pelvic exam, mostly due to negative experiences with doctors and their office staff. In men, screening tests such as prostate exams might be physically challenging if individuals tend to store fat in the hips, thighs, or buttocks.
Weight and Lifespan
Being overweight or obese can make even simple physical activities challenging. Compared to individuals at a healthy weight, those carrying extra pounds typically struggle more with tasks like walking a quarter-mile, lifting 10 pounds, and rising from an armless chair.
The physical challenges associated with excessive weight might take years off your life. An New England Journal of Medicine study that tracked over half a million 50- to 71-year-olds for a decade found an increase of 20% to 40% in death rates among overweight individuals at midlife. Death rates among obese individuals were two to three times higher.
A 2010 study in the same journal, which pooled findings from 19 studies that followed nearly 1.5 million white adults aged 19 to 84 years old for a similar period of time, found that the risk of death increased along with body size, ranging from a 44% higher risk for those who are mildly obese to a 250% higher risk for those with a BMI of 40 to 50.
Embrace Weight Loss and Improve Your Life
Losing excess weight can enhance both your physical and emotional well-being and contribute to a longer, healthier life. Some benefits are easily observable:- People with high blood pressure who shed a modest 10 pounds over six months reduced their systolic blood pressure by 2.8 mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure by 2.5 mm Hg – reductions that are equivalent to the effects brought about by some blood pressure medications.- Weight loss is so effective that many individuals with high blood pressure no longer require blood pressure medication once they lose weight, as long as they maintain their weight loss.- In a study of high-risk individuals for type 2 diabetes, those who shed just 7% of their weight and exercised for approximately 30 minutes a day cut their risk of diabetes by nearly 60%.
Adapted with permission from Lose Weight and Keep it Off, a special health report from Harvard Health Publishing**.
[1] Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., & Johnson, C. L. (2013). Prevalence of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass index among US adults, 1999–2010. Journal of the American Medical Association, 309(8), 806–814.[2] De Berardis, G., Carbone, F., Di Bari, M., & Jr, G. M. (2011). Obesity and depression: a critical review. Nutrition, 27(8), 831–837.[3] Kushi, L. H., Doyle, C., McCullough, M., Siedlarz, A., & Bandera, E. V. (2012). American cancer society guideline for colorectal cancer screening, 2012:[4] Puhl, R. M., & Brownell, K. D. (2013). Bias, stigma, and discrimination against obese people in findings from recent research. Obesity Reviews, 14(7), 480–494.[5] Whitaker, R. C., Beach, M. R., & Brownell, K. D. (2012). Increasing and improving weight-loss treatments. The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(2), 135–137.
- Obesity significantly increases the risk of developing numerous health conditions, including heart disease, strokes, certain types of cancer, and depression.
- Research indicates that higher body mass index (BMI) levels are directly correlated with a higher chance of developing health problems.
- Both weight gain and depression can influence each other, with obesity increasing the risk of depression by 55% and depression increasing the risk of becoming obese by 58%.
- Excessive weight and obesity are linked to a variety of cancers, with some experts considering obesity as the second leading cause of cancer death, after cigarette smoking.
