Health Risks of Being Overweight

They are too frightening to ignore. Please remember they are not listed here to frighten you or make you feel intimidated.

Knowledge is power. Knowing the health risks of being overweight should motivate you to strive to loose weight. Come to think of it; is that not why you are here looking for information on obesity?

The good news is most of the dangers and damages that being obese or overweight can cause are reversible if you change your lifestyle and work at getting slim and fit. Remember, with adequate exercise, use of obesity pills and bariatric surgery in extreme cases, you can overcome these health risks of being overweight.

57 different studies pooling over 900,000 people between the ages of 35 and 89 over a five year period showed that the lowest and safest weight bracket to be in, is one for your height that brings your BMI to between 22.2 to 25Kg/m2.

At this safe BMI level, you are least likely to suffer any of the health risks of being overweight.

Clearly, health risks of obesity starts creeping in if your BMI reaches 27.

As stated earlier, you can calculate your BMI by taking a measurement of your weight in Kg and your height as well, in meters (M). Multiply your height by your height again to get your height squared (for example 1.8m X 1.8m = 3.24m) and then divide your weight (for example 80Kg) by the result (i.e. 80Kg ÷ 3.24 = 24.69). I hope this is not too confusing...loads of high school maths there!

Normal weight should be within normal BMI range should be 20- 25Kg/m2.

Overweight is said to occur when your BMI is within 25 – 29.9Kg/m2,

and

Obesity exists when BMI is greater than 30kg/m2.

If your BMI is more than 25, do not let things deteriorate. Take action to conquer obesity. You can do it. Why be obese? Worse still, why wait and allow the crippling health risks of being overweight catch up with you.

Being obese increases your chances of developing the following illnesses. If you already have any of them, being overweight or obese means they will even become worse.

Lets mention a few of these here.

• If you are obese, your life span is cut down by at least nine (9) years... that is a whooping 10 percent reduction in your life expectancy!

• Diabetes

• Hypertension

• Arthritis and joint problems

• High cholesterol levels

• Heart attack

• Stroke

• Skin Diseases (especially around the creases in your groin and under the breast for women)

• Infertility

• Depression and low self esteem

• Obstructive sleep apnea causing one to snore alot and poor enjoyment of sleep

• Develop Gallstone and gallbladder disease like cholecystitis

• Cancer of the womb in women

• Breast Cancer

• Stomach and Bowel cancer. In fact, obesity has been reported to the a major contribution to developing cancer of the bowel, kidneys and stomach in one-third of people!

• Prostate cancer in men

• ... The list goes on.

Infact, the health risks of obesity are so worrying that the World Health Organization has called obesity a global public health epidemic that needs cracking.

Will you join in this fight?

Most people avoid understanding what the risks are when they are overweight. It is like putting your head in the sand. I was one of those people for many years.

As I started to have health problems due to being very obese my wife would ask, "Don't you want to be around to see your children and grandchildren grow up?" I would say, "Sure I do!" But the next meal was the same as before and my eating habits might have changed for a couple days or maybe a week. Then I would give up, saying, "It's too hard to lose weight."

Can you relate to this?

How many times are we reminded by a family member or friend that you need to start eating healthier or should start an exercise program?

I have tried most of the fad diets out there without any long term success. Old habits are hard to break. Let's talk about the word "try". It means you went into it with a mindset for it will not work.

Many decisions in life come about due to an experience that is severe enough to finally get your attention. Yep, that is what happened to me. I woke up about midnight short of breathe and my heart was going I thought 100 miles an hour.

Being hard headed when it came to accepting the health risks of being overweight and thinking I was fine, I would not call 911 but got my wife to drive me to the hospital. A bad move, a few times I would say you need to speed up because I couldn't breathe. It scared my wife to tears.

I also had a scare because the doctor said I was developing heart disease, and my weight had accelerated it. However, he said I had time to change - if I wanted to live a full life.

He got my attention and I started to research what I could do to change my lifestyle instead of just going on a crash diet, which would end up the same way as the many diets I had "tried" before.

You can say it becomes mind over matter and it would be true. You have to have the proper mind set to achieve a complete change of your lifestyle in the way to see and relate to food. You don't "try" to change, you simply change.

Don't start a change unless you have the right mind set. You will just be setting yourself up for failure.

These are the four steps I would recommend to you for dealing with the health risks of being overweight:

1. Get a complete exam and blood workup by a qualified doctor.
2. Learn what your options are to lose weight, ones that fit your personal needs.
3. Write down your program for success, itemizing food intake and activities done.
4. Select the tools that will assist you in your lifestyle change.

Return to Home Page from Health Risks of Being Overweight