What are the health risks of being overweight or obese?

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Obesity is something that many people do not think of as a serious ailment. Instead, they think of it as just a casual condition. To put it in perspective, more than 2.8 million people die of obesity every year. It is the fifth-largest killer globally.

Let’s find out about some of the major health risks of being overweight or obese:

1. High cholesterol

Unhealthy eating habits are the major cause of getting obese. Add to that the fact that you do not exercise on a regular basis, and you have a condition where you have an increased amount of bad LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. To reduce this health risk, you should include more high-fibre foods in your diet.

2. Type 2 diabetes

Are you one of those people who have a belly but are lean otherwise? Belly fat causes resistance to insulin, leading your body to not being able to move glucose from your blood into the cells. This causes Type 2 diabetes. In fact, 8 out of 10 Type 2 Diabetic patients are overweight.

3. High blood pressure

The concept of high blood pressure is quite simple to understand. The more the body weight, the more your heart will have to pump out blood and this need forces it to work harder. This added pressure causes strain on your arteries, which is not good in any way.

For this, you should exercise for at least half an hour to shed those extra kilos. Keep your BMI levels less than 25 because if not, you are sure to have high blood pressure.

4. Hardened arteries

Stroke, heart attack and heart failure are some of the life-threatening events that can happen to an obese person. The biggest reason for this is the loss of adequate blood flow due to hardened arteries.

Due to high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes, the arteries slowly start to thicken, which eventually prevents the proper flow of blood in your body. Due to a lack of proper blood flow, the chances of a heart failure increases manifold.

5. Osteoarthritis

The basic logic of overloading applies to your body as well. There is a limit to which your bones can hold your body weight. The joints in your body are the points that experience the maximum brunt of your weight and this creates small cracks in bones and cartilages causing pain and stiffness.

6. Cancer

When you gain weight, the fat around your major organs can hinder the regular development of cells due to the changes in hormones. These mutations in the cell can cause cancers like breast, endometrial, kidney or colorectal.

Irrespective of being overweight or not, you’ve got to eat a healthy diet consisting of fruits and vegetables to stay clear of possible development of cancer.

7.  Fatty liver disease

Even though doctors have not been able to identify the specific reason for liver cirrhosis, being obese makes it
easier for the ailment to develop. The scariest part of this disease is that there are no visible symptoms and it can eventually prevent your liver from functioning well.

Apart from these major health risks, there are plenty of other health issues that can happen to you if you continue to lead a lifestyle that promotes obesity. The best ways to resolve these problems are getting off your bed on time, indulging in regular exercise, and eating healthy. You can hire a personal trainer to get a personalized workout and diet plan to get faster results.

If you aren’t seeing results with your current routine, personal training could be one of the best investments
you will make in your health and well-being. Leading Edge provides private in-home personal training
and online coaching customized to meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

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