Database of diseases - Obesity and overweight

PROBLEMS WITH BREATHING

Obese patients often suffer from various complications from the respiratory system.
These complications include, for example, sleep apnea, hypoventilation syndrome and asthma risk. But more important than BMI risk factors are central obesity and increased neck circumference. Numerous studies have shown that weight loss correlates with the improvement of respiratory disorders in sleep. Considering that sleep apnea is a serious risk factor for ischemic heart disease and strokes, weight loss can simultaneously reduce sleep disturbances and the risk of other conditions in obese patients.

Of particular importance in creating various health threats is the so-called visceral fat tissue.
 

Elevated body weight is sometimes associated with an increased risk of certain cancers.

There may be an increased risk of cancer of the large intestine, prostate, gall bladder and breast and female reproductive organs.
In the case of breast cancer, the visceral obesity has a particular influence on its increased risk, especially in postmenopausal women who do not use hormone replacement therapy.


Both in women before and after menopause, obesity is associated with uterine cancer.

The occurrence of uterine cancer is much less common than breast cancer, but some of its cases are attributed to obesity. The increased incidence of these tumors is probably caused by an increase in estrogen levels without a simultaneous increase in progesterone levels.


In obese men, there is an increased risk of developing colon and prostate cancer.

Differences between the sexes may result, among other things, from the greater tendency of men to abdominal obesity, which has been recognized as an independent risk factor for colorectal cancer. And the observed lower correlation of BMI with the occurrence of this cancer in women may explain the supposed protective effect of estrogens. Obesity may predispose to prostate cancer, however, this relationship is not fully proven, although mortality among obese men due to this cancer is greater than among the lean by 20-30%.




GAINABLE DISEASES

In obese subjects, gastrointestinal diseases are more common than in people with normal body mass, which are very common complications of excess body weight.
Obesity is a risk factor for gallbladder disease. The synthesis of cholesterol correlates closely with the resources of adipose tissue, and for every extra kilogram of adipose tissue an additional 20 mg of cholesterol is synthesized. Increased turnover of cholesterol leads to an increase in its concentration in bile and secondary to cholelithiasis.

Obesity is also accompanied by abnormal liver function.
68-94% of obese patients are diagnosed with diffuse or middle-lung fatty liver disease.




REUMATOLOGICAL PROBLEMS

Obesity is often accompanied by rheumatic problems such as degeneration of the knee and hip. There was also a direct proportional relationship between body mass index and uricemia. High levels of uric acid in the blood may be asymptomatic or clinically manifest in the form of gout.


HORMONAL DISORDERS

In addition to the previously mentioned, there are a number of other hormonal disorders in obesity. In visceral obesity, increased synthesis of cortisol in the adrenal glands as well as androstendione and testosterone in women is observed.Production and secretion of progesterone in women and testosterone in men as well as growth hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) are reduced. Hormone disorders in obesity contribute to to menstruation disorders (long, abundant and irregular menstruations), infertility, hirsutism, impotence, polycystic ovarian syndrome as well as contribute to the emergence of tissue resistance to insulin and the development of breast and uterine tumors.

Table 1. Health risk resulting from obesity

 

 

The risk is significantly increased

The risk is moderately increased

The risk is slightly increased

 

Type 2 diabetes

Cholelithiasis

dyslipidemia

Insulin resistance

Sleep apnea syndrome

 

 

Coronary heart disease

Hypertension

Gout

Osteoarthritis

 

 

Cancer associated with obesity

Sex hormone disorders,

sterility,

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Fetal defects resulting from maternal obesity

Increased risk of general anesthesia

 

 

  

mgr. Agnieszka Dolna

References from the Author.