Obesity is a problem that millions of humans are affected by globally. Most people are aware that obesity leads to numerous health problems but still humans are struggling to beat it. Knowing the connection between obesity and health problems is important as many health problems are associated with it and cannot be ignored. One such problem is cardiovascular disease. Let’s discuss more on this.
What is Obesity?
Obesity is a condition of excessive body fat that has the potential to create a health risk. It is generally measured by BMI or Body Mass Index which is a calculation done by measuring height and weight. If an individual has a BMI of 30 or above, that individual is considered obese. It is important to know that BMI is not for diagnosis purposes but is used as a tool for measurement. Obesity is further classified into three categories namely moderate obesity (BMI 30-34.9), severe obesity (BMI 35-39.9), and morbid obesity (BMI 40 & above).
Causes of Obesity
Obesity is caused by many factors such as unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, genetics, and metabolic factors.
- Unhealthy Eating Habits: Unhealthy eating habits are a major factor in fat gain. This includes overeating, consumption of processed foods, skipping meals, eating late at night, eating too fast, and stress eating. These affect the eating pattern of an individual on unhealthy grounds.
- Physical Inactivity: Even if a person is eating healthily, it will still be a contributing factor towards fat gain. Physical activities help in converting fat into energy, hence resulting in the breakdown of fat molecules. A physically inactive person will only store this energy inside and never use it resulting in gaining unhealthy lifestyle.
- Genetics: Genetics plays a vital role in body composition. A person will be on the verge of obesity if he/she has a family history of obesity or is overweight.
- Metabolic Factors: Metabolism is another factor that decides the body structure and body composition of an individual. If an individual has a high-calorie intake but has a low metabolism, it will result in fat gain as the body will not be able to convert the fat into energy.
What is cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease is a broad term. It is nothing but dysfunction of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease or CVD of many types namely coronary artery disease (CAD), Heart Failure, Stroke, Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), and Arrhythmias.
- Coronary Artery Disease: Coronary Artery Disease is caused by the deposition of fat, cholesterol, and other substances on the artery wall which increases blood pressure and develops a chance of heart attack. Due to obesity, the treatment of coronary artery disease becomes complicated.
- Heart Failure: Due to excessive fat content in the body causes the heart to stress more. The heart works more on pumping blood on each beat which leads to hypertrophy and eventually heart failure.
- Stroke: Obesity is known to increase the chances of stroke by 64% because of the high amount of fat content in the body. When an individual has too much fat, problems like high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease lead to stroke.
- Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD): A plaque of fat around the artery causes tension to the artery leading to reduced blood flow. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. Arteries throughout the body are affected in this condition.
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure): Hypertension is caused by increased visceral adiposity which accounts for around 70% risk in humans for hypertension. Due to excessive deposit of fat, blood flow gets obstructed resulting in increased blood pressure.
- Arrhythmias: Heart arrhythmia is a condition in which the heartbeat becomes irregular. This is caused by excessive deposit of body fat around the abdominal area which increases blood pressure.
Preventive Methods
There are many preventive techniques that an individual can practice to prevent cardiovascular disease. Below is the list of preventive methods:
- Healthy diet
- Regular Physical Exercise
- Weight Management
- Regular Health Screening
- Stress Management
- Adequate Sleep
- Avoiding Tobacco and Limiting Alcohol
The connection between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and obesity is something every individual should know. Most of the diseases are caused by due to excessive fat content in an individual’s body. Due to obesity, many types of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease (CAD), heart failure, stroke, peripheral artery disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), and arrhythmias. Obesity should be addressed at the very initial stage to tackle health issues that are associated with it. This enables doctors and dieticians to plan out a course of action for the patient based on the results achieved. Hence, one should always take preventive steps towards obesity as it helps in reducing cardiovascular diseases and improve overall health quality.
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