The Dangers of Excess Body Fat
By Chad Tackett, president of GHF
Most people's primary motivation for weight management
is to improve their appearance. Equally important, however, are the
many other benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise.
Weight management through reduction of excess body fat
plays a vital role in maintaining good health and fighting disease.
In fact, medical evidence shows that obesity poses a major threat to
health and longevity. (The most common definition of obesity is more
than 25 percent body fat for men and more than 32 percent for women.)
An estimated one in three Americans has some excess body fat; an estimated
20 percent are obese.
Excess body fat is linked to major physical threats like
heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. (Three out of four Americans die
of either heart disease or cancer each year; according to the National
Health and Nutrition Examination survey, approximately 80 percent of
those deaths are associated with life-style factors, including inactivity.)
For example, if you're obese, it takes more energy for
you to breathe because your heart has to work harder to pump blood to
the lungs and to the excess fat throughout the body. This increased
work load can cause your heart to become enlarged and can result in
high blood pressure and life-threatening erratic heartbeats.
Obese people also tend to have high cholesterol levels,
making them more prone to arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries
by deposits of plaque. This becomes life-threatening when blood vessels
become so narrow or blocked that vital organs like the brain, heart
or kidneys are deprived of blood. Additionally, the narrowing of the
blood vessels forces the heart to pump harder, and blood pressure rises.
High blood pressure itself poses several health risks, including heart
attack, kidney failure, and stroke. About 25 percent of all heart and
blood vessel problems are associated with obesity.
Clinical studies have found a relationship between excess
body fat and the incidence of cancer. By itself, body fat is thought
to be a storage place for carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) in
both men and women. In women, excess body fat has been linked to a higher
rate of breast and uterine cancer; in men, the threat comes from colon
and prostate cancer.
There is also a delicate balance between blood sugar, body
fat, and the hormone insulin. Excess blood sugar is stored in the liver
and other vital organs; when the organs are "full," the excess
blood sugar is converted to fat. As fat cells themselves become full,
they tend to take in less blood sugar. In some obese people, the pancreas
produces more and more insulin, which the body can't use, to regulate
blood sugar levels, and the whole system becomes overwhelmed. This poor
regulation of blood sugar and insulin results in diabetes, a disease
with long-term consequences, including heart disease, kidney failure,
blindness, amputation, and death. Excess body fat is also linked to
gall bladder disease, gastro-intestinal disease, sexual dysfunction,
osteoarthritiis, and stroke.
- Reducing
Body Fat Reduces Disease Risk
- Gaining Weight Happens
to Most of Us
- The
Answer: Healthy Eating and Physical Fitness
This article was provided by Chad
Tackett, president of GHF.
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