The Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity

Overweight and obesity is a health concern since many years ago because they are a risk factor of many diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions. According to World Health Organization (WHO), there are as high as 39% of adults were overweight and 18% of children or adolescents were overweight. This is a global alarming issue.

BMI is commonly use to measure whether a person is overweight or obese. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m2). Adult is considered as overweight when your BMI range between 25-30kg/m2. Obesity is defined as BMI 30kg/m2 or more. So, how did body weight affect our health?

1. High blood pressure

Extra fat tissue need more oxygen and nutrient to live, so blood vessels have higher workload in order to deliver more blood to these fat tissues. More circulating blood means higher pressure of blood on artery wall. There comes higher blood pressure in obesity people. Besides, obesity is found to affect renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system which control the blood volume of the body. It controls the level of sodium and water retention in the body. Obesity can disrupt the proper regulation of blood pressure by this system.

2. Dyslipidemia (high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides)

Approximately two-third of obese patient are dyslipidemic. There are two main form of cholesterol in our body: low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL). Cholesterol is transported in the blood through lipoprotein. LDL cholesterol is often referred as “bad cholesterol” because it might leads to accumulation of fats in the arteries. When the arteries are narrowed, it increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. HDL cholesterol is the good cholesterol which protect us from heart disease and stroke. It acts as a scavenger in the bloodstream. Hence, higher level of HDL cholesterol will reduce the risk of heart disease. Triglycerides is main type of fat in our body. It comes from the excess energy in our diet. High level of triglycerides together with high LDL choleterol is associated with higher risk of heart disease. Obesity will induce changes in lipoprotein metabolism which involved uptake, storage and transport of lipids.

3. Diabetes

As high as 90% of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus are obese or overweight. Obese patient are at a higher risk to develop diabetes especially when their abdominal fat is high. Insulin is the body hormone secreted by pancreas beta cell in order to utilize glucose in the food or store the excess energy for future use. In obese patient, insulin secretion is normal but body cells are no longer sensitive to insulin. Therefore, large amount of glucose obtained from meal remain in the bloodstream and cannot be utilized by body cells. This translate to insulin resistance and persistently high concentration of glucose in blood. This is why glucose metabolism is disrupted in obese patient.

4. Coronary artery disease (CAD)

Obesity is an significant risk factor for coronary artery disease. CHD is a disease where fatty deposits accumulate and form a plaque inside the coronary arteries. These arteries are responsible for transporting oxygen-rich blood to the heart. When the plaque builds up, it is called atherosclerosis. Plaque is also made up from clotting substance (fibrin), cholesterol, fat and waste products. It occurs gradually over many years and generally does not cause symptoms until old age. When the blood supply to the heart is insufficient due to narrowed arteries, symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath might occur. If the plaque is big enough to block the artery completely, then heart attack will occur.

Therefore, maintaining a healthy body weight is important if you want to live in healthy. Being overweight and obese not only have cosmetic issue but also harm you health which contributes to lower quality of life (QOL) and shorten length of life.

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