Being obese can lead to a wide range of problems, including premature death. Young people who are vastly overweight face the risks of developing diseases that are not generally associated with their age group, such as heart disease. Other health risks of obesity include high cholesterol and strokes.
One of the most concerning health risks of obesity is the possibility of premature death. It is believed that being vastly overweight can have the effect of reducing a person’s lifespan. This risk can be especially prominent if the weight problem exists for at least 10 years. It is also believed that the more a person weighs, the more danger she faces.
There are certain conditions that are associated with people in certain age groups. Obesity is not one of them. This problem affects people in all stages of life. One of the notable health risks of obesity for young people, however, is that it increases their chances of developing conditions that they otherwise would likely face only later in life, if at all.
Type 2 diabetes is one of the conditions that is listed among the health risks of obesity. This type of diabetes is characterized by the body’s resistance to insulin, which is needed to transport sugar to the cells. When this process does not function properly, the result is elevated blood sugar. If this condition is not treated, a wide range of other serious complications can occur, such as amputation.
It has been found that obese people have elevated risks of strokes. A stroke is a condition that results when there is a temporary failure in the supply of blood to the brain. One of the reasons that the link between these two conditions is believed to exist is because many of the side effects of obesity are causes of blood supply problems.
For example, being drastically overweight is often accompanied by high cholesterol. Cholesterol is a substance that is transported in the blood to perform tasks such as making hormones and helping to digest food. When there is an excessive amount of this substance, it tends to build up in the arteries. This can lead to heart disease.
Being obese already puts a significant amount of strain on the heart. This has been found to be especially true when the fat is concentrated around a person’s mid-section. When this is combined with the increased risks of conditions such as high cholesterol, there is little wonder that there is a strong connection between obesity and heart disease.
