Obesity in Humans

Obesity is a serious condition that is affects many people today. People who are obese are unfit and thus are vulnerable to diseases that are associated by being unfit. Majority of these diseases affect the respiratory and nervous systems. Examples of these diseases include heart attack, hypertension and stroke. Obese people are also at an elevated risk of suffering from diabetes.

Once an individual becomes obese, it may be difficult to maintain physical dexterity. Simple tasks that were once a pleasure to perform are abandoned and the suffered has to settle for a passive life that is without fun.

Startling statistics show that many western nations are facing many problems, including death, as a result of obesity. Obesity reduces the quality of life both directly and indirectly. Obese people are often advised to avoid eating fad diets in order to come out of their weight management problems. Many people see this as a constraint on their freedoms. In fact, obese people are obliged to change their lifestyles if they are to be able to manage their weight well.

Sometimes, radical measures are called for, in which case one of the options is surgery. Apart from such procedures being very expensive, they may result in health complications if not carried out in the right manner.

Wadden reports that recent research has shown high likelihood of obese people suffering from tiredness, headaches, shortness of breath, excessive sweating, kidney failure, elevated serum cholesterol levels, decreased blood oxygen, decreased testosterone levels (269).

In a study on the effects of obesity on the circulatory system, Kim found out that many researches indicate a strong association between obesity and heart attack, sudden cardiac death, chest pain, angina congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, paralysis and brain hemorrhage (727).

Although research on the effects of obesity on obtrusive sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, cataracts, infertility and irregular menstrual cycles is not conclusive, notes Weinstock, many researchers are convinced that obese people have very high chances of encountering these problems at one point in their lives (2422).