Effects of Obesity


For over 60 percent of Americans, the battle of the bulge remains a daily struggle. In an effort to lose weight quickly and further, to actually keep it off, consumers are spending billions of dollars on weight loss aids and supplements. Nonetheless, nation-wide statistics for obesity continue to grow at an alarming rate. In the early 1980s, approximately 15 percent of the adult American population was obese. In 2007, that number rose to 34 percent.1 As statistics continue to rise, so do health concerns. Not only can the effects of obesity be life-threatening, but being overweight has been shown to be a precursor to numerous health disorders.

Effects of obesity2
  • Obesity raises the risk of premature death. About 300,000 deaths each year are related to obesity.
  • Obesity and heart disease often times go hand in hand. Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, cardiac attack, chest pain, and atherosclerosis. People who are overweight are generally more at risk for cardiovascular disease and insulin resistant syndrome.
  • High blood pressure is twice as prevalent in people who are obese than those who are at a healthy weight.
  • The risk of osteoarthritis increases by 9 to 13 percent with every 2 pound increase in weight.
  • Over 80 percent of the people who are obese or overweight have Type II diabetes.
  • Obesity is linked to higher risks for gall bladder disease, incontinence, surgical risk and depression.
  • Being obese or overweight has psychological and social effects. It can affect the quality of life because of limited mobility.

    • What is equally alarming is that 17 percent of our children and adolescents are obese. As a result, children and adolescents nationwide are increasingly being diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, all health conditions which were once seen exclusively in adults.3


    New Research on the Obesity-Heart Disease Link

    Scientists at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute created a model to link obesity (and the high-fat diet that generally accompanies it) and heart disease. Using a fruit fly, they discovered that a protein called TOR plays a role in the accumulation of fat in the heart. By manipulating this protein, scientists could protect the hearts of obese flies from damage caused by a high-fat diet. TOR is known to inhibit the activity of an enzyme that breaks down fat. By lowering the activity of TOR, scientists were able to increase the activity of the fat-breaking enzyme, thus reducing fat accumulation in the heart. Dr. Bodmer, co-senior author of the study says, “These results open the possibility that we can intervene with the effects of obesity by targeting TOR and other proteins it regulates -- either directly in fat or in a specific organ like the heart.” 4

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    References:
    1. 1. Obesity: [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/423747/obesity/279334/Health-effects-of-obesity]
    2. 2. Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
    3. 3. Childhood Overweight and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html]
    4. 4. High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obesity and Heart Dysfunction Are Regulated by the TOR Pathway in Drosophila.Cell Metabolism, 2010; 12 (5): 533-544 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2010.09.014