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Weight Loss Home | Obesity | Extra Weight Tied to Extensive Health Problems

The Hazards of Excess Weight

Here's a guide to understanding what obesity is, and some of its dangers. If you're overweight or obese, you are not alone - you're among nearly 130 million other U.S. adults. Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death and is closely linked to conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, gout, asthma, and gum disease. WebMD has created a weight loss clinic to addresses this public health epidemic.

The WebMD Weight Loss Clinic starts with an in-depth assessment of your personal goals, your eating habits, and your food preferences. Then we create a balanced, easy-to-follow meal plan that includes the foods you love -- so you'll stick with it, and achieve your weight loss goals.

Extra Weight Tied to Extensive Health Problems

Many Americans have weight problems, and carrying those extra pounds jeopardizes just about every aspect of their health, according to a new study.

It's nothing new to know that excess weight is often accompanied by health problems, such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

But the latest rundown of conditions is stunningly long and diverse, covering 41 topics including asthma, heart failure, high blood pressure, depression, fatigue, osteoarthritis, and stress.

The list was compiled by researchers, including Ruth Patterson, PhD, RD, of the Cancer Prevention Research Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Patterson and colleagues studied 73,000 people aged 50 to 76 in western Washington state. Each person filled out a 24-page questionnaire covering height, weight, and a battery of health conditions.

Based on the responses, the researchers calculated body mass index (BMI) to gauge participants' total body fat.

Among the women, almost 60% were overweight or obese. For the men, nearly 73% were overweight or obese.

Overweight BMI ranges from 25-29.9; obese BMI is at least 30.

Few participants -- less than 10% for both genders -- said they were current smokers. Almost all (93%) were white, and 42% said they had completed at least 16 years of education.

Weight-Related Health Problems

Higher BMI was tied to 37 out of 41 health conditions for women and 29 out of 41 for men.

"Of the conditions examined, 90% were associated with increased BMI in women and 71% in men," write the researchers in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

For women, morbid obesity (defined as a BMI of 35 or greater) was shown to be associated with a more than 12-fold risk of diabetes, an almost 12-fold risk of knee replacement, a sixfold risk of heart failure, a fivefold risk of high blood pressure and gallbladder removal, and a fourfold risk of potentially life-threatening clots to the lungs, chronic fatigue/lack of energy, and insomnia.

Morbidly obese men had a similar list. With the strongest associations seen in diabetes (eightfold risk), knee replacement (sixfold), high blood pressure (sixfold), heart failure (fourfold), and fatigue and lack of energy and insomnia (fourfold).

Morbidly obese men had slightly lower rates of enlarged prostate.

Time's Toll

The group only included older adults, and it's not known when their weight problems started. Adding a pound or two every year or so may sound harmless, but as the study shows, it all adds up over time.

Some conditions, such as high blood pressure, might be caused by excess weight. Others could be part of a vicious cycle.

"For example, depression may result in weight gain, which can lead to depression," write the researchers, calling for "effective and practical" ways to prevent weight gain and fight obesity.

By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed By Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, July 25, 2007.
Medically updated July 25, 2007.

SOURCES: Patterson, R. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, December 2004; vol 27: pp 385-390. News release, Center for the Advancement of Health.

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