Miracle In The Green Health Guide: Effects of Obesity In Our Health

These past few days we have been bombarded with a lot of problems, if not being infected by the virus, the pandemic affected us mentally, physically and our set of priorities as well--our life in general. 

Depression rate increases in a span of two years because of this; being locked in the 24/7 and not being able to have an outlet or new environment and greeneries to look at triggers a lot of people’s depression and mental illness, hence, some resorted to overeating to comfort and calm themselves. 

Over the past 30 years the prevalence of obesity has greatly increased, but it progressively increased even more during the time of the pandemic, the determinant is because of the sudden shift of priorities. Not being able to exercise as much as before and do some activities that can help us stay active and healthy made it more difficult to combat being overweight and obesity, but the underlying burden that we get from it is still there. 

The Effects of Obesity In Our Health: 

Respiratory System: 

Being overweight can also have fats stored around your neck, which can cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is the difficulty of breathing when you sleep or during the night, breathing actually stops for short periods of time in people that have sleep apnea. 

Nervous System: 

Obesity can also greatly increase the risk of stroke--it is when the blood stops flowing through your brain. Other than that, obesity can also have a massive effect on your mental health, which means there’s a higher chance or risk of depression, poor self-esteem and issues with body image specially with the laid out convoluted standards that the beauty companies have established. 

Digestive System:

If you think it stops with only two systems in our body, you’re wrong because obesity can also affect the digestive system as well. Obesity has been greatly associated with a higher risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Obesity also increases the risk of developing gallstones. What are gallstones? It is the buildup of hard bile in the gallbladder. 

There is also a chance of liver damage, scar tissues and even liver failure when fat builds up around the liver. 

Cardiovascular and Endocrine System

It doesn’t stop there, obesity also poses a risk in the Cardiovascular and Endocrine system as well. The heart is overworked of people who are obese as it needs to work harder to pump blood around the body. Overworked hearts may lead to high blood pressure which may also culminate in stroke. 

Obesity may also make the body cells resistant to insulin. For those who are not familiar with insulin, it is the hormone that carries sugar from your blood to your cells, where it is used for energy. Your cells being resistant to insulin means the sugar can’t be taken up by the cells, which may result in high blood sugar. This increases the person’s risk of having type 2 diabetes. 

What is type 2 diabetes? It is the condition when your blood sugar is too high. This condition is also associated with a variety of other health issues and conditions like stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, amputation and blindness. In addition to that, diabetes and high blood pressure are also two of the common causes of chronic kidney diseases. 

What does high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar on top of excess body fat lead to? First and foremost, it can make the blood vessels that carry blood to the heart hard and narrow. Atherosclerosis--or hardened arteries-- can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Reproductive System:

Aside from obesity making it harder for women to get pregnant, it also poses more risk of having serious complications to a woman during pregnancy. 

Skeletal and Muscular System:

Your bone’s density tends to deteriorate when you are overweight, as well as your muscle mass. This is called osteosarcopenic obesity. 

Osteosarcopenic obesity leads to a higher risk of fractures, physical disability, and poorer overall health outcomes.

Those extra weights can also put a lot of pressure to the joint that can lead to pain and stiffness. 

Integumentary Skin System:

This one is a bit different than the other as this involves the outer layer of the body which is the skin. 

When your body fat folds, rashes may occur in the area where it is folded. This rashes may worsen, leading to a condition called acanthosis nigricans. 

Acanthosis Nigricans is a condition in which the skin in the folds and creases on your body thicken and discolorize. 

Takeaway: 

Obesity can affect almost every part of our body. However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, because you can treat and manage most of these risks and health conditions with a combination of these three: exercise, diet, and change of lifestyle.

Even just losing around 5 to 10 percent of your current body weight can reduce your risk of having and developing these health issues. Talk to a professional or your doctor if you want to start this life changing journey. 

Love + miracles,