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Lose the Weight, Lower the Risk: There May Be More to Obesity Than Meets the Eye
If obesity goes unchecked and isn’t addressed, patients may run the risk of developing a host of serious – and sometimes fatal – health challenges down the road.
Obesity isn’t just an aesthetic issue – it affects many of your body’s natural processes, including your emotional wellbeing. Adult patients who’ve reached a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30.0 or higher are classified as clinically obese and run the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint pain, increased immobility, depression/mental disorders, low quality of life, high blood pressure, gout, certain cancers (including breast, ovaries, and pancreas), gallbladder disease, increased mortality in general, and more. Not to mention if an obese individual contracts the Covid-19 virus, they are more likely to suffer from its long-term effects and possibly risk death. The Covid-19 virus has been shown to adversely affect those who are immune compromised, elderly, and obese. Fortunately, obesity can be reversed. Whether through conventional methods, such as diet or exercise, or surgically, patients don’t have to live with obesity and risk the additional health challenges it poses. Here are just some of the serious health conditions commonly associated with obesity and a dangerously high BMI:
Often occurs in patients with a high BMI, this progressive disease is characterized by blood sugar dysfunction, or low insulin secretion by the pancreas and poor insulin absorption by the body’s cells. Type 2 diabetes affects roughly 34 million Americans and is often managed through diet modifications, physical activity, weight loss, and sometimes, insulin medication. Luckily, 70% of type 2 diabetics who’ve undergone bariatric surgery have entered remission.
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
A healthy blood pressure reading should be around 120/80. Blood pressure in obese patients can fall in the range of 102/217. In general, the more weight someone is carrying around, the more stress this puts on their body’s circulatory system. Again, these risks are significantly reduced through bariatric surgery.
High Cholesterol (High LDL cholesterol, Low HDL cholesterol, and/or high levels of triglycerides) Shedding excess fat, including through bariatric surgery, has been shown to reduce these high levels of cholesterol that can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
Stroke
Often dubbed the “brain attack,” a stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying vital oxygen and nutrients to the brain in suddenly blocked by a clot or rupture. Basically, blood flow is blocked from reaching the brain. A stroke results in facial paralysis/drooping, numbness in any of the extremities, loss of speech, and confusion. Strokes are extremely life-threatening if medical intervention is not implemented in time and can even result in permanent damage or death. Though preventable, those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, obesity, or a history of a heart attack are most at risk.
Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease is typically caused by plaque (bad cholesterol) buildup within the walls of the arteries that are responsible for supplying blood to the heart. As plaque continues to buildup, the walls of the arteries narrow, increasing risk of blockage. Coronary disease is often caused by poor diet choices, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, diabetes, and high levels of LDL cholesterol.
An alarming sleep disorder where breathing suddenly stops and restarts throughout the night, leading to excessively loud snoring, daytime drowsiness, and even death. This places an incredible amount of stress on the heart. We’ve seen resolution of sleep apnea symptoms within weeks of weight loss surgery.
Body Pain
Chronic obesity is likely to cause pain in the joints and muscles of the lower body, resulting in osteoarthritis. Obese patients are 4-5 times more likely to develop chronic arthritis than those who are not obese. Carrying excess weight can cause cartilage to wear down faster, resulting in painful mobility. Gout Characterized by inflammatory arthritis that occurs when there is too much uric acid present in the blood. The extraneous amounts of uric acid can form crystals that deposit in the joints, causing pain. Mental Illness/Low Quality of Life When obesity begins to decrease one’s mobility and way of life, quality of life declines and mental illness can begin to set it, including feelings of isolation and hopelessness. The Weight is Over As you can see, there’s more to obesity than the number you see on the scale. Without making the necessary lifestyle changes to lose those life-threatening LBs, a patient can put his/her body at risk of developing one or more – or many – serious health issues. If traditional weight loss methods have failed in the past and your BMI continues to hover around 30.0 or higher, you may be an excellent candidate for any one of the innovative, life changing bariatric surgeries and weight loss therapies available at our renowned weight loss practice. Call our office today to speak with any one of our caring and compassionate weight loss experts to learn how weight loss surgery can give you a new lease on life.
