Complications of Obesity
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Obesity, or carrying excess weight, is associated with a variety of health complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines obesity using body mass index or BMI. If a person’s BMI is 30 or higher, they’re considered to have obesity.
“Obesity affects every organ system in the body and causes negative effects on each of these systems,” says Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and the medical director of Memorial Care Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.
This doesn’t mean everyone diagnosed with obesity will face these complications, but it does mean their risk factors for developing them are higher than for someone who doesn’t fall into the obesity category.
Dr. Ali says the conditions most commonly associated with obesity are:
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Sleep apnea
- Cancer
As the CDC notes, there are several other conditions associated with obesity.
Below, we’ll discuss some common complications of obesity. It’s important to note that genetics and lifestyle play a role in many of these conditions as well, so someone doesn’t have to be diagnosed with obesity to be diagnosed with one of these complications.
But if obesity is considered a key factor, many of these complications can be reduced or eliminated with weight loss.
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