Obesity

Causes :: Consequences :: BMI :: Treatment

Obesity: A Disease

Obesity is emerging as a health epidemic around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is rapidly spreading across all regions and demographic groups. An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese. That figure represents more than 50% of the American adult population. Of this group, 14 million adults suffer from severe obesity.

Obesity is an excess of total body fat, which results from caloric intake that exceeds energy usage. A measurement used to assess health risks of obesity is Body Mass Index (BMI).

Click here to find out more about Body Mass Index BMI.

Each year there are more than 300,000 premature deaths due to obesity-related medical problems. This substantial increase in health risks has made obesity the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States. 

Causes of Obesity

Obesity could be a combination of the following:

• The genes you inherited from your parents
• How well your body turns food into energy
• Your eating and exercising habits
• Your surroundings
• Psychological factors

Consequences of Obesity

If you are obese, severely obese, or morbidly obese, you may have:

Major Health Risks

• Shorter Life Expectancy
• Obese people have more risk for:
• Diabetes (type 2)
• Joint problems (e.g., arthritis)
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Gallbladder problems
• Certain types of cancer (breast, uterine, colon)
• Digestive disorders (e.g., gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD)
• Breathing difficulties (e.g., sleep apnea, asthma)
• Psychological problems such as depression
• Problems with fertility and pregnancy
• Urinary Incontinence

Risks to psychological and social well-being

• Negative self-image
• Social isolation
• Discrimination

Difficulties with day-to-day living

• Normal tasks become harder when you are obese, as movement is more difficult
• You tend to tire more quickly and you find yourself short of breath
• Public transport seats, telephone booths, and cars may be too small for you
• You may find it difficult to maintain personal hygiene

Treatment Options

Non-Surgical Treatment

Dieting, exercise, and medication have long been regarded as the conventional methods to achieve weight loss. Sometimes, these efforts are successful in the short term. However, for people who are morbidly obese, the results rarely last. For many, this can translate into what's called the "yo-yo syndrome," where patients continually gain and lose weight with the possibility of serious psychological and health consequences. Recent research reveals that conventional methods of weight loss generally fail to produce permanent weight loss. Several studies have shown that patients on diets, exercise programs, or medication are able to lose approximately 10% of their body weight but tend to regain two-thirds of it within one year, and almost all of it within five years**.  Another study found that less than 5% of patients in weight loss programs were able to maintain their reduced weight after five years*.

Surgical Treatment

Why perform surgery for morbid obesity?

Morbid obesity surgery is not cosmetic surgery. All doctors recognize that once a patients weight exceeds a certain range they are more likely to suffer from a wide range of illnesses such as diabetes, sleep apnea, asthma, hypertension, arthritis, varicose veins and skin problems. Their chances of dying at a premature age is also greatly increased. Their employment prospects, mobility and social acceptance also suffers. Depression is much more common in the morbidly obese. The main aim of this surgery is to bring your weight down to a safer range where most of these associated conditions are reduced in severity and many completely reversed. Along the way most people find an improvement in their mobility, body image, self-esteem and enjoyment of life.

Surgery

Weight loss surgery for obesity, also called bariatric surgery, changes the normal digestive process. These operations promote weight loss by restricting the amount of calories a patient takes and/or decreasing absorption of nutrients and thereby creating a controlled malabsorption.

Surgical Options

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding :: Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy :: Gastric Bypass