If you live with obesity, you may be aware of the social challenges associated with it, such as finding clothes that fit and dealing with the burden of being stigmatized by others because of your weight.
But carrying excess pounds can take a toll on your health, too. In fact, obesity raises your risk of a wide range of medical problems.
At Peachtree Surgical & Bariatrics in Atlanta, Georgia, our empathetic weight loss care providers can help you take control of your weight and with the health risks associated with excess weight. We can advise you on how lifestyle changes, weight management medications, and/or bariatric surgery may play a role in your weight loss treatment.
Here, we explain five of the serious health problems associated with obesity.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when your blood sugar is too high on a regular basis. Although anyone can develop Type 2 diabetes, it is much more common in people who are overweight or obese.
Having Type 2 diabetes can increase your risk of serious medical conditions such as:
Losing weight can lower blood sugar and decrease your risk of medical complications.
Having high blood pressure raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. Like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure can occur in anyone, but you are much more likely to have it if you are overweight or obese.
Weight loss can lower your blood pressure as well as your risk of potentially fatal heart attacks and strokes.
People who are obese have a greater likelihood than healthy-weight people to have high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides, which are another kind of blood fat that’s best kept at low levels.
Losing weight can help improve your blood cholesterol and your risk of cholesterol-related medical problems, such as heart attack, stroke, and chest pain caused by blocked arteries.
You may not think that cancer is related to weight. But if you’re overweight or obese, you raise your risk of 13 types of cancer. Believe it or not, weight-linked cancers make up 40% of cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
Losing weight could help you cut your risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and many other types of cancer. To learn more, read this information from the American Cancer Society.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. If you are overweight or obese, fat deposits in your neck may make it harder to breathe while you sleep and cause obstructive sleep apnea.
In addition to interfering with restful sleep, obstructive sleep apnea can harm your heart health by causing your blood pressure and heart rate to rise.
Sleep apnea is closely associated with weight. In fact, 60-90% of people who live with sleep apnea are overweight or obese. If you have sleep apnea, losing weight could help you get better rest.
Losing weight can help provide relief from these and other weight-related medical problems. It may also lower your risk of developing conditions that threaten your life and your quality of life.
We invite you to learn more about bariatric surgery, medical weight management, and lifestyle changes that can help bring about health-saving weight loss. To schedule a consultation with one of our caring weight loss care providers, contact us to request an appointment at our Atlanta, Georgia, office.
