Effect of high fat % in the body on health
Being too high in body fat can have a number of serious ramifications for your health. It also usually means that you are not as attractive as you might want to be in terms of having a toned, fit and healthy-looking body.
Hypertension
Additional fat tissue in the body needs oxygen and nutrients in order to live, which requires the blood vessels to circulate more blood to the fat tissue. This increases the work load of the heart because it must pump more blood through additional blood vessels. More circulating blood also means more pressure on the artery walls. Higher pressure on the artery walls increases the blood pressure. In addition, extra weight can raise the heart rate and reduce the body’s ability to transport blood through the vessels.
Diabetes
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing insulin resistance and Type-II diabetes. In obese individuals, adipose tissue releases increased amounts of non-esterified fatty acids, glycerol, hormones, pro-inflammatory cytokines and other factors that are involved in the development of insulin resistance. When insulin resistance is accompanied by dysfunction of pancreatic islet-cells-the cells that release insulin-failure to control blood glucose levels and diabetes results.
Heart Problems
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is present 10 times more often in obese people compared to those who are not obese. An obese person has more body fat, which means more fatty molecules (such as cholesterol) are in his blood vessels. These fats constrict the blood vessels, which mean that the heart experiences difficulty in pushing blood through the vessels. This constriction also worsens the strain on the heart because the heart has to wrok overtime both to pump large amounts of blood and to push the blood through the blood vessels. Narrowed arteries and reduced blood flow to the heart can cause chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Blood clots can also form in narrowed arteries and cause a stroke.
Arthritis
Increased fat levels and higher body weight contributes to the development of osteoarthritis - a degenerative disease of the joint. Added body weight causes trauma to weight carrying joints and accelerates osteoathritis. Being overweight or obese for long periods of time greatly deteriorates the hip and knee joints.
Respiratory difficulties
Obesity impairs respiratory function leading to the following problems :
Expansion of chest wall is decreased.
Work of breathing is increased.
Lung capacity is decreased.
Therefore, obese individuals are more prone to bronchitis, worsening of asthma and pneumonia.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea causes people to stop breathing for brief periods, interupts sleep through out the night and causes sleepiness during the day. It also causes heavy snoring. Excess body fat on the neck and chest constricts the air-passage ways and sometimes causes restricted breathing.
Gall stones
Obese individuals are more likely to develop gallstones than those who are at a healtheir weight. Researchers have found that obese individuals tend to produce higher levels of cholesterol than normal.
This leads to production of bile that contains more cholesterol than can be dissolved. When this happens, gallstones can form from undissolved cholesterol. In the obese, gall bladders may not empty normally or completely.
Gerd
People who are obese are more likely than people who are not obese to have gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) of which heart burn is a major symptom.
PCOS
Excessive fat accumulation, particularly in the abdominal region is partly responsible for insulin resistance and associated hyperinsulinemia which play a key role in increasing the male sex hormone in women with PCOS.
Cancer
Fat tissue is important in the production of estrogen and prolonged exposure to high levels of estrogen increases the risk of breast cancer.
Visceral fat around the stomach organs and subcutaneous fat over the abdominal muscles promotes an inflammatory response in the body which increases the risk of developing cancer of colon, uterus, cervical and prostate.
Do you know?
An increase in BMI by 1 can increase your chances of getting diabetes by upto 20 times.
Obesity can lead to gestational diabetes (Diabetes during pregnancy). This increases the risk for a primary caesarian and pre term birth in all women.
Obesity and insulin resistance are reversible, but unchecked will lead to type II diabetes mellitus which is irreversible.
Just a 10% reduction of body weight can lower the risk of developing gall stones.
Decreasing BMI by 2 units is associated with reducing one’s risk of developing osteoarthritis by approximately 50%.
Being too high in body fat can have a number of serious ramifications for your health. It also usually means that you are not as attractive as you might want to be in terms of having a toned, fit and healthy-looking body.
Hypertension
Additional fat tissue in the body needs oxygen and nutrients in order to live, which requires the blood vessels to circulate more blood to the fat tissue. This increases the work load of the heart because it must pump more blood through additional blood vessels. More circulating blood also means more pressure on the artery walls. Higher pressure on the artery walls increases the blood pressure. In addition, extra weight can raise the heart rate and reduce the body’s ability to transport blood through the vessels.
Diabetes
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing insulin resistance and Type-II diabetes. In obese individuals, adipose tissue releases increased amounts of non-esterified fatty acids, glycerol, hormones, pro-inflammatory cytokines and other factors that are involved in the development of insulin resistance. When insulin resistance is accompanied by dysfunction of pancreatic islet-cells-the cells that release insulin-failure to control blood glucose levels and diabetes results.
Heart Problems
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is present 10 times more often in obese people compared to those who are not obese. An obese person has more body fat, which means more fatty molecules (such as cholesterol) are in his blood vessels. These fats constrict the blood vessels, which mean that the heart experiences difficulty in pushing blood through the vessels. This constriction also worsens the strain on the heart because the heart has to wrok overtime both to pump large amounts of blood and to push the blood through the blood vessels. Narrowed arteries and reduced blood flow to the heart can cause chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Blood clots can also form in narrowed arteries and cause a stroke.
Arthritis
Increased fat levels and higher body weight contributes to the development of osteoarthritis - a degenerative disease of the joint. Added body weight causes trauma to weight carrying joints and accelerates osteoathritis. Being overweight or obese for long periods of time greatly deteriorates the hip and knee joints.
Respiratory difficulties
Obesity impairs respiratory function leading to the following problems :
Expansion of chest wall is decreased.
Work of breathing is increased.
Lung capacity is decreased.
Therefore, obese individuals are more prone to bronchitis, worsening of asthma and pneumonia.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea causes people to stop breathing for brief periods, interupts sleep through out the night and causes sleepiness during the day. It also causes heavy snoring. Excess body fat on the neck and chest constricts the air-passage ways and sometimes causes restricted breathing.
Gall stones
Obese individuals are more likely to develop gallstones than those who are at a healtheir weight. Researchers have found that obese individuals tend to produce higher levels of cholesterol than normal.
This leads to production of bile that contains more cholesterol than can be dissolved. When this happens, gallstones can form from undissolved cholesterol. In the obese, gall bladders may not empty normally or completely.
Gerd
People who are obese are more likely than people who are not obese to have gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) of which heart burn is a major symptom.
PCOS
Excessive fat accumulation, particularly in the abdominal region is partly responsible for insulin resistance and associated hyperinsulinemia which play a key role in increasing the male sex hormone in women with PCOS.
Cancer
Fat tissue is important in the production of estrogen and prolonged exposure to high levels of estrogen increases the risk of breast cancer.
Visceral fat around the stomach organs and subcutaneous fat over the abdominal muscles promotes an inflammatory response in the body which increases the risk of developing cancer of colon, uterus, cervical and prostate.
Do you know?
An increase in BMI by 1 can increase your chances of getting diabetes by upto 20 times.
Obesity can lead to gestational diabetes (Diabetes during pregnancy). This increases the risk for a primary caesarian and pre term birth in all women.
Obesity and insulin resistance are reversible, but unchecked will lead to type II diabetes mellitus which is irreversible.
Just a 10% reduction of body weight can lower the risk of developing gall stones.
Decreasing BMI by 2 units is associated with reducing one’s risk of developing osteoarthritis by approximately 50%.