Obesity is an excess of body fat. Obesity can increase the risk of many diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, nocturnal sleep apnea, and others. Obesity and related diseases can lead to a significant deterioration in the quality of life, and in some cases to disability, and early death.

Diabetes

Obesity is one of the causes of type II diabetes. Obesity increases the risk of developing type II diabetes up to 10 times or even more. Diabetes persons die because of this disease more often in 2 times.

Overweight can lead to the development of the following disease:

  • diabetic foot, which can lead to limb amputation
  • cardiac ischemia
  • stroke
  • blindness
  • kidney disease and kidney failure
  • high blood pressure
  • vascular disease and neuropathy
  • deterioration of wound healing and the trophic ulcers development
  • impotence.

Hypertension

Obesity is a risk factor for high blood pressure, so-called arterial hypertension. In 3 patients out of 4, the cause of hypertension is overweight. The hypertensive disease can lead to diseases such as coronary artery disease (coronary heart disease), stroke and kidney diseases.

Heart Diseases

A lot of scientific research has shown the connection of obesity with heart diseases, especially with coronary arteriosclerosis. Atherosclerosis significantly increases the risk of heart attack and myocardial infarction.

Also, obesity leads to the development of the heart abnormality (arrhythmia).

Diseases of the lungs and bronchi

Obesity increases the risk of developing respiratory infections, pneumonia, and asthma. Asthma in people with obesity occurs 3-4 times more often.

On average, 50-60% of obese patients suffer from nocturnal sleep apnea, and in cases of the advanced form of obesity - up to 90% of patients. Sleep apnea is a severe respiratory disease that is characterized by the stopping of breathing in a dream. The condition occurs due to the excess of fat on the neck, around the pharynx, which leads to the closure of the respiratory tract during sleep. A person can face about 100 respiratory arrests during the night. The breathing interruptions reduce the saturation of blood with oxygen and its intake to all organs. Sleep apnea can lead to stroke, myocardial infarction, and sudden coronary death. Also, nocturnal sleep apnea disturbs the regular sleep cycle, which leads to constant lack of sleep and chronic fatigue.

Cancer

The higher the body mass index, the higher the risk of developing such oncological diseases as:

  • endometrial cancer (uterine bodies)
  • cervical cancer
  • ovarian cancer
  • breast cancer in postmenopausal women
  • cancer of the colon and rectum
  • esophageal cancer
  • pancreas cancer
  • cancer of the gallbladder
  • liver cancer
  • kidney cancer
  • thyroid cancer
  • prostate cancer
  • non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
  • multiple myeloma
  • leukemia.

Obesity increases the mortality in all types of cancer up to 52% in men and 60% in women.

Cerebral vessels diseases

Obesity leads to vascular problems throughout the human body. Atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels is one of the most dangerous among them. Cholesterol narrow the bloodstream, which leads to severe problems with blood circulation and causes a deficit of oxygen in all parts of the brain. The consequences are headaches, problems with movement coordination, or paralysis. Moreover, overweight can increase the risk of stroke both directly and indirectly.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

This disease relies on the transfer of gastric acid into the esophagus. Common symptoms of reflux disease are heartburn, swallowing, coughing at night, hoarseness of the voice. 10-20% of people periodically experience symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. In case of obesity due to abnormal intra-abdominal pressure, the risk of GERD, erosive esophagitis, and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus increases.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and trauma

Obesity increases the risk of diseases such as:

  • osteoarthritis, which may require the replacement of the knee or hip joint
  • herniated disc and other diseases of the spine
  • back pain.

Depending on the cause and type of obesity, modern medicine offers several methods of obesity treatment. In addition to drug treatment, which is ineffective in the long term, specialists actively use the surgical method of treating obesity. Bariatrics is the area of surgery which deals with the overweight problems.

Moreover, there are specialized clinics of metabolic surgery. For example, Metabolik Cerrahi Hospital in Turkey deals with the surgical treatment of type 2 diabetes.