Obesity is an ever growing issue. In 2008 more than 1.4 billion people over the age of 20 were overweight. Over 200 million of these were men and a shockingly 300 million were women. Obesity does not only just affect your exterior like the size of your body or the physical scars like stretch marks because of weight gain, but it also affects your organs. Being overweight may help to cause issues like type 2 diabetes, strokes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, cancer and more life-threatening problems. To reduce the risk of any health issues people who are overweight should explore options for weight loss.
Being overweight defiantly has a knock-on effect on your health. Usually, these health risks may one day become fatal if not acted upon.
- High blood pressure – Blood pressure is the force of blood being pressed against the walls of your arteries which pumps blood around your body and heart. If the blood pressure rises it can damage the body. When you are overweight or obese the chance of having high blood pressure and its related side effects is significantly higher.
- Strokes – Strokes are caused by a build-up of plaque in your arteries. The plaque may the rupture causing a blood clot to form. The blood clot may then travel to your brain causing starvation of oxygen which causes a stroke. As your BMI increases the risk of having a stroke also rises.
- Cancer – Being overweight creates a higher risk of developing breast, colon, endometrial and gallbladder cancer.
- Infertility – Being overweight affects the rate of infertility in both men and women. It may also cause menstrual problems in women.
- Osteoarthritis – This is when you have pain in your joints like your knees, hips and lower back. This is because the protective tissue around the joints wears away due to extra weight causing a lot of pain.
- Sleep apnea – It is a disorder when you have one or more pauses in breathing whilst sleeping. Being obese will make this condition worse as the fat around your neck will narrow your airways making it harder to breathe.
Everyone knows that diet and exercise will help to contribute to weight loss. By eating regularly and healthily you will be able to shed a couple of pounds. Every meal needs to be balanced; a balanced diet includes carbohydrates like potatoes or pasta, Fats like oils or fatty fish, protein like red meats, vitamins, minerals and fibre. Being on a diet also does not mean eating salads constantly; you can eat foods you enjoy in moderation. If you are sensible with your food you are able to lose weight with dieting only.
Exercise is also a great way to lose weight and tone up. Exercising doesn’t have to be a lot, it is recommended to do half an hour of physical activities daily. A little bit of exercise can go a long way, especially when you are overweight. The exercise will not only help you to lose weight but it will help to keep your organs healthy.
If dieting and exercise is making no major difference some people may consider weight loss surgeries like the gastric sleeve, gastric band or gastric balloon. These are all ways to reduce the size of your stomach which will limit your intake of food causing weight loss. The only thing about this surgery is that some people’s stomach just returns to the original size within a matter of years as they have not stuck to a sensible intake of food. (Please note – Centre for Surgery does not currently offer these procedures).
Liposuction is also an option for weight loss. Liposuction is the removal of fat by using a device which essentially sucks out the fat from the unwanted areas like the abdomen, flanks, back more. The fat cells are then damaged which will make it harder for fat cells to grow and develop again in that area but fat can re-grow if not careful. It is a fast solution to weight loss with instant and noticeable results.
However, you need to use which method suits your health best. You will need to consult with surgeons and doctors to see which your best option is.