Chronic Illnesses that Could Worsen if You Are Overweight

This article is not intended to scare you into losing weight but to increase your appreciation of excess weight as a potential hazard to health. There is hardly a condition or chronic illness that already exists, which is not aggravated by overweight or, conversely, helped by weight loss. The discussion which follows is confined to four major chronic diseases: hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and osteroarthritis.

Hypertension

No one knows what causes high blood pressure, known as hypertension, in 90 percent of cases, except that it is twice as common in overweight persons as in those of normal weight. In most people blood pressure rises with a gain in body weight and usually returns to normal with a significant weight loss.

Heart Disease

Obesity imposes an added burden on the heart because blood volume increases with body weight and the body's fat reserves have to be supplied with blood. As a result, the heart must pump to a larger system of blood vessels. It enlarges, weakens and becomes less efficient. As the process continues, it generally leads to heart attack or congestive heart failure. The American Heart Association have studies showing that individuals that follow healthy diet and exercise plans are more than likely to be at a lower risk of developing heart disease.

Diabetes

Not only is diabetes four times more common in overweight people, but the death rate for overweight diabetics is triple that of those with normal (or less) weight reported by The American Diabetes Association. Although being overweight is not the sole cause of diabetes, it hastens the onset in persons prone to it. In such individuals, weight loss can control the diabetes.

Mild forms of diabetes may be kept under control with weight control, lean meats, poultry and fish, and a cautious and selective intake of carbohydrates to keep the sugar content at a minimum along with following a daily exercise plan.

Osteoarthritis