What are the health risks associated with obesity?

Top Doctors recently had the pleasure to talk to highly revered consultant endocrinologist, Dr Sobia Arshad, who, here in this article below, discusses obesity at length, including outlining what the main health risks associated with obesity are.

What is obesity?

Obesity is often confused with being overweight, as both are defined as an accumulation of extra fat. Extra fat is calculated using body mass index (BMI). BMI is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters (kg/m²).

WHO defines overweight and obesity as follows: overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25, and obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30.

What are the health risks associated with obesity?

Obesity is a complex disease and increases the risk for many serious health conditions, causing increased mortality. Accumulation of fat cells in important organs leads to high blood pressure (hypertension), high LDL (bad) cholesterol, low HDL (good) cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides (dyslipidaemia), type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, sleep apnoea and breathing problems, low quality of life, different types of cancer, and osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint). It also increases mental illnesses such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. 

Can patients with obesity benefit from bariatric surgery, and what are the indications for the procedure?

Obesity is a growing problem and has adverse effects on all systems in the body. Therefore, lots of novel medical (injectable) treatments are now available, if diet and lifestyle changes are not working, bariatric surgery is reserved for severe obesity or if medical therapies are unsuccessful.

With these new injectable treatments, one can lose up to between 10 and 15 per cent of their overall body weight, and more if combined with exercise and diet. Bariatric surgery can cause up to 40 to 50 per cent of body weight reduction, which is sometimes required to achieve normal BMI (<25) in morbidly obese patients. 

How can patients maintain a healthy weight after treatment?

Maintaining healthy weight after treatment is not always simple. Weight reduction achieved by lifestyle changes and calorie restriction is achievable but not always sustainable, as the human body resists losing weight and naturally goes back to its original weight, as fat cells mostly shrink and don’t disappear easily.

What are the complications of obesity and why should people undergo treatment?

Every aspect of life is adversely affected by obesity. Obesity reduces life expectancy due to increased cardiovascular complications. Hence, it is extremely important to identify obesity as a serious disease and prioritise its treatment.

To book an appointment with Dr Sobia Arshad, simply head on over to her Top Doctors profile today.