Sage-Tips

Is obesity a life threatening disease?

Obesity significantly increases your risk of developing life-threatening conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer. Each year, approximately 280,000 adults die from an obesity-related condition in the United States.

What does your BMI tell you about disease risk?

BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good gauge of your risk for diseases that can occur with more body fat. The higher your BMI, the higher your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.

What is obesity How can we know that we are obese?

Obesity is identified when the body mass index (BMI) is equal to 30 or greater than that. The body mass index can be calculated easily by dividing the body weight by squaring the height. But the BMI alone cannot estimate body fat but it is considered as one of the factors.

Why is BMI a bad health indicator?

BMI is not an accurate predictor of health because it does not account for body fat percentage or body fat distribution. In addition, BMI cannot accurately predict the health of different demographics and races because it was created with data from only white Europeans.

Why is BMI a poor measure of obesity?

BMI as a Determinant of Body Fat Mass A particular problem with BMI as an index of obesity is that it does not differentiate between body lean mass and body fat mass; that is, a person can have a high BMI but still have a very low fat mass and vice versa.

What are the complications of obesity?

What are the complications of obesity?

• type 2 diabetes.
• heart disease.
• high blood pressure.
• certain cancers (breast, colon, and endometrial)
• stroke.
• gallbladder disease.
• fatty liver disease.
• high cholesterol.

What are the health risks of being obese or overweight?

Being overweight or obese can have a serious impact on health. Carrying extra fat leads to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).

What does a BMI indicate?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI can indicate high body fatness. BMI screens for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it does not diagnose the body fatness or health of an individual.

What are the risk factors of obesity?

Risk Factors

• Lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, not enough sleep, and high amounts of stress can increase your risk for overweight and obesity.
• Childhood obesity remains a serious problem in the United States, and some populations are more at risk for childhood obesity than others.

What are two diseases associated with being overweight?

Consequences of Obesity

• All-causes of death (mortality)
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Coronary heart disease.
• Stroke.
• Gallbladder disease.
• Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)

What are the health risks of obesity?

People who have obesity, compared to those with a normal or healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following: 1,2,3. All-causes of death (mortality) High blood pressure (Hypertension) High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides (Dyslipidemia)

What is the difference between being overweight and being obese?

*Overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher; obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher.

How does being overweight affect my risk of heart disease?

Overweight and obesity may raise your risk for certain health problems such as high blood pressure. Heart disease is a term used to describe several problems that may affect your heart.

How does being overweight affect my risk of osteoarthritis?

Being overweight or having obesity may raise your risk of getting osteoarthritis by putting extra pressure on your joints and cartilage. Overweight and obesity may raise your risk of getting gallbladder diseases, such as gallstones and cholecystitis.