HOW EXCESS WEIGHT AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH!
If you’re carrying many extra pounds, you face a higher-than-average risk of a whopping 50 different health problems. These health conditions include the nation’s leading causes of death—heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers—as well as less common ailments such as gout and gallstones. Perhaps even more compelling is the strong link between excess weight and depression, because this common mood disorder can have a profound, negative impact on your daily life.
A Harvard study that combined data from more than 50,000 men (participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study) and more than 120,000 women (from the Nurses’ Health Study) revealed some sobering statistics about weight and health.
The volunteers provided their height and weight, as well as details on their diets, health habits, and medical histories. Researchers tracked the volunteers over more than 10 years. They noted the occurrence of illnesses and compared those developments with each subject’s body mass index (BMI)—an estimate of an individual’s relative body fat calculated from his or her height and weight).
Obesity increased the risk of diabetes 20 times and substantially boosted the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and gallstones. Among people who were overweight or obese, there was a direct relationship between BMI and risk: the higher the BMI, the higher the likelihood of disease.
Excess Weight Causes Many Health Problems

Weight and depression
Do people gain weight because they’re depressed, or do they become depressed because they’re overweight? A review of 15 studies found evidence that both scenarios are likely true. The study, published in 2010 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found that obese people have a 55% higher risk of developing depression over time compared with people of normal weight. Thursday, 26 November 2015
HOW EXCESS WEIGHT AFFECTS YOUR HEALTH!
If you’re carrying many extra pounds, you face a higher-than-average risk of a whopping 50 different health problems. These health conditions include the nation’s leading causes of death—heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers—as well as less common ailments such as gout and gallstones. Perhaps even more compelling is the strong link between excess weight and depression, because this common mood disorder can have a profound, negative impact on your daily life.
A Harvard study that combined data from more than 50,000 men (participants in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study) and more than 120,000 women (from the Nurses’ Health Study) revealed some sobering statistics about weight and health.
The volunteers provided their height and weight, as well as details on their diets, health habits, and medical histories. Researchers tracked the volunteers over more than 10 years. They noted the occurrence of illnesses and compared those developments with each subject’s body mass index (BMI)—an estimate of an individual’s relative body fat calculated from his or her height and weight).
Obesity increased the risk of diabetes 20 times and substantially boosted the risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and gallstones. Among people who were overweight or obese, there was a direct relationship between BMI and risk: the higher the BMI, the higher the likelihood of disease.
Excess Weight Causes Many Health Problems

Weight and depression
Do people gain weight because they’re depressed, or do they become depressed because they’re overweight? A review of 15 studies found evidence that both scenarios are likely true. The study, published in 2010 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found that obese people have a 55% higher risk of developing depression over time compared with people of normal weight. Here are some reasons why obesity may increase risk of depression:
Both conditions appear to stem (at least in part) from alterations in brain chemistry and function in response to stress.
Psychological factors are also plausible. In our culture, thin equals beautiful, and being overweight can lower self-esteem, a known trigger for depression.
Odd eating patterns and eating disorders, as well as the physical discomfort of being obese, are known to foster depression.
The study also found that depressed people have a 58% higher risk of becoming obese. Here are some reasons why depression may lead to obesity:
Elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol (common in people with depression) may alter substances in fat cells that make fat accumulation, especially in the belly, more likely, according to one theory.
People who feel depressed often feel too blue to eat properly and exercise regularly, making them more prone to gain weight.
Some medications used to treat depression cause weight gain.
Sleep apnea: Why snoring can be serious
If you snore loudly and temporarily stop breathing many times during the night, waking suddenly with a snort or choke, you probably have sleep apnea, a common disorder that’s more prevalent with overweight and obesity.
Your bedmate will probably notice these symptoms, while you may not. People with sleep apnea don’t realize they’ve been awakened because they don’t become fully conscious, but these awakenings can disrupt sleep. Not only does sleep apnea often lead to daytime sleepiness, it also increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
Weight, heart disease, and stroke
Some of the most common problems seen in people who carry excess weight, such as high blood pressure and unhealthy levels of cholesterol and other fats in the blood, tend to occur together. Both can lead to concurrent health problems—namely, heart disease and stroke.
High blood pressure is about six times more common in people who are obese than in those who are lean. According to the American Heart Association, 22 pounds of excess weight boosts systolic blood pressure (the first number in are some reasons why obesity may increase risk of depression:
Both conditions appear to stem (at least in part) from alterations in brain chemistry and function in response to stress.
Psychological factors are also plausible. In our culture, thin equals beautiful, and being overweight can lower self-esteem, a known trigger for depression.
Odd eating patterns and eating disorders, as well as the physical discomfort of being obese, are known to foster depression.
The study also found that depressed people have a 58% higher risk of becoming obese. Here are some reasons why depression may lead to obesity:
Elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol (common in people with depression) may alter substances in fat cells that make fat accumulation, especially in the belly, more likely, according to one theory.
People who feel depressed often feel too blue to eat properly and exercise regularly, making them more prone to gain weight.
Some medications used to treat depression cause weight gain.
Sleep apnea: Why snoring can be serious
If you snore loudly and temporarily stop breathing many times during the night, waking suddenly with a snort or choke, you probably have sleep apnea, a common disorder that’s more prevalent with overweight and obesity.
Your bedmate will probably notice these symptoms, while you may not. People with sleep apnea don’t realize they’ve been awakened because they don’t become fully conscious, but these awakenings can disrupt sleep. Not only does sleep apnea often lead to daytime sleepiness, it also increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
Weight, heart disease, and stroke
Some of the most common problems seen in people who carry excess weight, such as high blood pressure and unhealthy levels of cholesterol and other fats in the blood, tend to occur together. Both can lead to concurrent health problems—namely, heart disease and stroke.
High blood pressure is about six times more common in people who are obese thing in those who are lean. According to the American Heart Association, 22 pounds of excess weight boosts systolic blood pressure (the first number in