Threats of Excess body fat

Aug 22, 2008

Weight loss is often considered for improving appearance. But the fact is obesity, apart from manifesting unpleasant appearance, poses major threat to life and health in general. Clinical studies reveal a strong relationship between excess body fat and cancer. Body fat on its own is considered a storage space for carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) both in male and female. In the case of females, the excess body fat manifests as breast or uterine cancer and in the case of males it is colon or prostrate cancer.

Obese people need to spend more energy to breathe because the heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs and to the excess fat stored in the entire body. This excess work load on the heart can result in high blood pressure and erratic heartbeats.

People with obesity are also prone to arteriosclerosis (narrowing of arteries by deposits of plaque) as they tend to have high cholesterol levels. Blood does not reach vital body parts like the brain, kidneys, heart when blood vessels become narrow as a result of arteriosclerosis.

Our body maintains a delicate balance among blood sugar, body fat and the hormone insulin. Liver and other vital organs store the excess blood sugar but when the organs become full, the same blood sugar is converted as fat. When the fat cells become full, they become incapable to absorb more blood sugar. This causes an imbalance in the body resulting in diabetes that lead to heart disease, kidney failure and blindness in the long run.

The only solution to avoid these threats is to keep your body weight reduced and maintained. Because reducing body weight reduces the risk of diseases. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh studied 159 people with a weight management program. The age group was 45 yrs and their overweight pounds were between 30 – 70 pounds. During the 18 month study they were able to shed 10 -15 percent of their weight and they showed significant improvement in HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels and blood pressure. Further, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, body fat reduction is a far more powerful modulator of cardiac structure than drug therapy.

There is sufficient evidence to show that certain types of cancers are successfully treated with the help of an active lifestyle and weight loss management programs. Studies also show that regular exercise and a low-fat diet are very successful to treat non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM).

With such studies and evidences, one can sure have answers to these bothersome threats of obesity by just developing a healthy eating routine and indulging in some regular physical fitness activities.