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Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

More than 61 percent of Americans aged 20 years and older are overweight and one-fourth of American adults are obese an estimated 97 million, which puts them at risk for poor health . Yet obesity continues to increase alarmingly in men, women and children. With children ages six to seventeen years old, there is an obesity crisis.

Since 1980, the number of overweight children has doubled, and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled. In addition to being a major health risk, obesity is associated with approximately 300,000 deaths a year in this country and obesity causes a myriad of health complications.

Many Americans tend to look at it as a physically unattractive, cosmetic problem without considering the many related illnesses that go along with it. But the health ramifications are far more serious even though the psychology of weight image does come into play physically due to how you feel about yourself. Overweight and obese adults are at risk for premature death and disability as a consequence of being overweight and obese, the health risks increase even more when a person’s obesity increases.

Obesity-related illness results in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths each year in the United States and billions of dollars in health care costs.
Being obese causes an increased risk for developing a number of serious and potentially fatal health problems, including:

• High Blood pressure, hypertension
  One-third of all cases of high blood pressure are associated with obesity High blood pressure is twice as common in adults who are obese than in those who are at a healthy weight.
• High blood cholesterol
  50% more likely to have elevated blood cholesterol levels.
• Diabetes Type 2
  Non-insulin dependent accounts for nearly 90% of all cases of diabetes. Researchers estimate that 88 to 97% of type 2 diabetes cases diagnosed in overweight people are a direct result of obesity.
• Congestive heart failure
  Obesity increases the risk of congestive heart failure, a potentially fatal condition in which the heart muscle weakens, progressively losing the ability to pump blood.
• Heart disease
  Heart attack, congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac death, angina or chest pain, and abnormal heart rhythm is increased in persons who are overweight or obese.
• Stroke
  There is a link between obesity and stroke; this is particularly the case for people whose fat is situated predominantly in the abdominal region. Overweight people are more likely to have high blood cholesterol levels and high blood pressure, but these associations are not the only explanations for the greater stroke rate.
• Gallstones and gallbladder disorders.
• Gout
  The condition may develop in people with obesity incidents are remarkably higher, Gout is strongly associated with obesity.
• Osteoarthritis
  Obesity may be a major factor in the development of osteoarthritis, particularly of the knee and especially in women.

You can read more about cholesterol/obesity related illness here.

This article is reproduced with credit to Free Online Health.

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