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Obesity is not a disease in itself but it is at the roots of many diseases like high
blood pressure. Heart trouble, diabetes, kidney trouble, gout and joint pains, stroke,
skin diseases and some of which increase the rate of mortality. The more a person’s
weight, the greater is the risk of his early death.
When an overweight person dies, the death certificate does not state
the cause being overweight. But is a common knowledge that overweight persons are more
susceptible to life destroying diseases than those who are not . Obesity is always the
contributing cause for such deaths.
Some years back, in Europe & America when the incidence of fatal
disease due to overweight was taken into account, the following diseases were found to be
causing early death-diabetes, cerebral hemorrhage, all heart disease, gall bladder
diseases, cirrhosis of the liver and chronic nephritis.
Danger to vital organ: - Obesity
is a disorder, which affect the vital organs of the human body. We shall see how the
different organs function & how obesity causes disrepair to them.
Heart & Lungs: -The
heart is a wonderful organ of our body with out which there can be no human life, even
during our sleep, it works unceasingly and tirelessly. It supplies blood to the whole
body. The heart is helped by the lungs to purify the blood. Lungs too tirelessly go on
purifying the blood to be sent back to the heart. Hence any hindrance in the heart’s
functions disturbs the lungs too and so is the case the other way round. Any defect
setting in, to one of these organs affects the other.
Heart muscles contract in order to pump blood, when the fat deposits
create an overload, the heat muscles can do nothing but over work in the process of
supplying blood to the tissues, causing discomfort to the heart.
Blood get the nutrition from the intestines through the food we take.
When the proportion of fat content exceeds the limit, the blood gets thickened and the
heart muscles have to overwork in pumping the blood. In spite of the hearts constant
pumping the walls of the blood vessels (arteries) get thickened. the type of food we take,
therefore, has a determinant effect in gaining weight.
Cholesterol:
- Cholesterol is a normal constituent of the blood. It is found in the cell
membranes and layer of the skin. It is used by the adrenal and the sex glands to form the
hormones. Cholesterol has a proper and regular function to be performed in the body's
chemical process.
Excess cholesterol is derived from the saturated fats we consume
through our food. Fatty deposits containing large quantities of cholesterol lead to the
narrowing and hardening of the arteries (blood vessels). This condition is known as
arteriosclerosis. We know that the excess fat gets deposited in the surface of the heart.
This is an overload on the heart. Excess fat is also a living tissue and hence requires
blood supply just as any other tissue in our body. An increase in body fat necessitates a
corresponding increase in the number of small blood vessels for the additional blood
supply or else the heart can not but over work to meet the need.
The heart of an obese person functions under the handicap of a
superfluous layer of fat. Overweight also hinders lung function, resulting in respiratory
problems. Apart from heart & lungs, the liver & kidneys are the other vital organs
that get affected due to obesity.
Liver &
Obesity: - liver's function in our body is very important for its role in the
metabolism of fats. Fat is required for heat & energy in our body, the liver not only
breaks the fat with the help of the digestive pancreatic juice from the pancreas, but also
converts the excess carbohydrates into fat for storage. When an individual takes in more
calories than are required they are stored as fat, even if obtained from carbohydrates or
proteins. When fat is required for energy it is withdrawn from this storage & carried
to the liver, to be split into substances that re far soluble.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas during its endocrine
function. Insulin is required to burn the glucose. Liver stores excess glucose that
circulates in blood. With the help of insulin, liver converts this excess glucose into a
substance known as glycogen for storage until necessity arises. When sugar is required,
the glycogen is converted back into glucose & fed into the blood.
An obese person has the tendency to overeat. Appetite cannot be
controlled in nine out of ten obese person. If there is a history of diabetes in the
family & if the person is already obese & is used to consume fats &
carbohydrates in excess, then the insulin produced becomes in sufficient for its
conversion and the liver naturally suffers a set back too. That is one of the many reasons
why persons who are obese are advises to keep away from sweets and fats as much as
possible.
Kidney
& Obesity: - Kidneys are organs of elimination of waste products from the
body. They are two in number & are located on either side of the lower spine. Kidney
has a plentiful supply of blood vessels. It has fine filters & performs the tough job
of filtering twice the amount of blood in the body every hour. It does not allow the large
particles of essential proteins and red cells to pass through the filter. Most of the
fluid is re-absorbed. Essential glucose, amino acids, hormones & other vitamins are
returned to the blood stream after absorption. The excess of these substances is discarded
through the urine. More fat tissues the body contains, the greater the task of
elimination. So for a person of obese, kidney disease tend to develop easily.
Muscles
& Joints Pain: - Excess weight interferes with the skeletomuscular
activities. All the weight-bearing joints are over burdened due to the excess weight.
Rheumatism, gout & arthritis are common in those who are overweight. It may be argued
that these disorders affect even those who are not obese & sometimes even extremely
thin persons suffer from these disorders. But along with these diseases, the damage to the
joints & bones is greater in obese than in non-obese persons.
Obesity also results in impotency in some cases If it occur at a very
young age, with activities & exercise being nil, it implies very poor health &
loss of energy. This, in many cases, results in the loss of vigour & leads to
impotency
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