Health Risks of Overweight & Obesity

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose also called blood sugar, is too high. Nearly 9 in 10 people with type 2 diabetes have overweight or obesity.12 Over time, high blood glucose can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye problems ,nerve damage and other health problems .If you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you may be able to prevent or delay diabetes by losing at least 5% to 7% of your starting weight.13,14 For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, your goal would be to lose about 10 to 14 pounds.

High blood pressure , also called hypertension, is a condition in which blood flows through your blood vessels with a force greater than normal. Having a large body size may increase blood pressure because your heart needs to pump harder to supply blood to all your cells. Excess fat may also damage your kidneys, which help regulate blood pressure.

High blood pressure can strain your heart, damage blood vessels, and raise your risk of heart attack, stroke , kidney disease, and death. Losing enough weight to reach a healthy body mass index range may lower high blood pressure and prevent or control related health problems.

 Heart disease k is a term used to describe several health problems that affect your heart, such as a heart attack, heart failure, angina, or an abnormal heart rhythm. Having overweight or obesity increases your risk of developing conditions that can lead to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol , and high blood glucose. In addition, excess weight can also make your heart have to work harder to send blood to all the cells in your body. Losing excess weight may help you lower these risk factors for heart disease. 

 A stroke happens when a blood vessel in your brain or neck is blocked or bursts, cutting off blood flow to a part of your brain. A stroke can damage brain tissue and make you unable to speak or move parts of your body.

Overweight and obesity are known to increase blood pressure—and high blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes. Losing weight may help you lower your blood pressure and other risk factors for stroke, including high blood glucose and high blood cholesterol.

 Kidney disease means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter your blood as they should. Obesity raises the risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure, which are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Even if you don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure, having obesity may increase your risk of developing CKD and speed up its progress.23

If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight may help you prevent or delay CKD. If you are in the early stages of CKD, consuming healthy foods and beverages, being active, and losing excess weight may slow the progress of the disease and keep your kidneys healthier longer.24

Fatty liver diseases develop when fat builds up in your liver, which can lead to severe liver damage, cirrhosis, or even liver failure. These diseases include nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). 

NAFLD and NASH most often affect people who have overweight or obesity. People who have insulin resistance, unhealthy levels of fat in the blood, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and certain genes can also develop NAFLD and NASH.

If you have overweight or obesity, losing at least 3% to 5% of your body weight may reduce fat in the liver.15

Overweight and obesity raise the risk of developing health problems during pregnancy that can affect the pregnancy and the baby’s health. Pregnant people who have obesity may have a greater chance of 10

• developing gestational diabetes, or diabetes that occurs during pregnancy
• having preeclampsia , or high blood pressure during pregnancy, which can cause severe health problems for the pregnant person and baby if left untreated
• needing a caesarean delivery or c-section—and, as a result, taking longer to recover after giving birth
• having complications from surgery and anesthesia  especially if they have severe obesity
• gaining more weight or continuing to have overweight or obesity after the baby is born

 Sleep apnea  is a common problem that can happen while you are sleeping. If you have sleep apnea, your upper airway becomes blocked, causing you to breathe irregularly or even stop breathing altogether for short periods of time. Untreated sleep apnea may raise your risk for developing many health problems, including heart disease and diabetes.

Obesity is a common cause of sleep apnea in adults.18 If you have overweight or obesity, you may have more fat stored around your neck, making the airway smaller. A smaller airway can make breathing difficult or cause snoring. If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight may help reduce sleep apnea or make it go away.

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