Obesity is a disease that affects almost half of the American population. It is medically defined as anyone who has a body mass index, or BMI, score of 30 or more. The causes of obesity are varied and complex, however, it’s important to understand that obesity is more than just being a little overweight or not having the desired bikini body. Obesity is a disease and there are certain processes in the body that are struggling or breaking down due to the excessive force of a body that large.
Drawing attention to obesity as a disease is not a body shaming move or a way to encourage a thin standard of beauty. Being obese is simply not healthy, but that doesn’t mean you have to be stick thin to be healthy. Your set weight of being healthy is personal and should be something that you and your physician discuss, however, it’s important to draw the difference between being unhealthy, causing bodily harm to yourself, and body empowerment. As you read through this blog post, consider how your life is being impacted by your current health status, and how you can improve certain aspects by getting to your health weight point.
Obesity encourages the synthesis and retention of additional fat cells
At a normal body weight, most individuals have a healthy layer of fat called subcutaneous fat, which serves biologically important functions like cushion for protection, heat generation, and energy storage. However, as the BMI increases, so does another layer of fat called visceral fat. Visceral fat is dangerous and surrounds the vital organs in the stomach or mid region. This can cause inflammation, which leads to a cascade of other health problems for arteries, nerves, organs, and other important tissues.
The “muffin top” that continuously expands until it is a mid region of this accumulated fat can be extremely hard to get rid of. This is because there are natural fat cells, and then the more fat that accumulates due to unhealthy behaviors, immature and undifferentiated cells in that region then become fat cells, and these fat cells grow larger with the increase in lipid accumulation.
This all boils down to say that once you get a certain amount of fat, an additional number of cells become fat cells that otherwise would not have. These fat cells can be stingy, and hard to get rid of (aka stubborn fat). Also, even if you lose a bunch of weight, these cells remain and have a higher propensity for accumulating fat than natural fat cells.
Obesity is a disease that requires constant medical attention
Obesity is a disease because it requires constant medical attention. Cancer, heart disease, hormonal imbalances, etc. are all medical issues that require trips to a professional or a specialist. Obesity is the same way. A large body mass is so difficult for so many different body regions, that different specialists are required for the overall care of an obese indiviual.
Obesity is highly correlated with other diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. These two diseases can ruin the kidneys, and kidney function is essential for life. These two diseases can also negatively impact the heart, important arteries and vessels, and have deadly consequences if uncared for. It’s difficult to say which comes first, the obesity or the health problems, but either way, they both play together.
Not only do internal organs need attention from specialists, but special tissues like bones and skin also need attention for obese patients. Bones are not meant to bear a certain amount of weight and force. By putting excess weight on the knees, hips, ankles, and other important joints, this increases the risk for ligament tears, bone deformation, and fractures or joint pain. Even the skin can become irritated if layers of fat and skin are rubbing against one another, creating a warm and moist environment for yeasts and bacteria to fester, causing an eventual skin injection that requires dermatology and infectious disease attention.
Finally, obesity can impair the immune system, increasing susceptibility to illnesses and cancer. The body requires a certain amount of glucose, oxygen and other essential molecules to function. If the lungs cannot expand properly or energy stores must be used for other functions, then the immune system may be left to fend on its own. In addition to the lack of resources, obesity encourages inflammation and inflammation can also impair the immune system so it is less able to combat developing cancers or other malformations.
Obesity has a bidirectional relationship with mental health disorders
The link between mental health disorders and obesity is a bidirectional one where both play on each other. There is a mental health disorder that is causing an unhealthy relationship with food and obese individuals struggle with some form of mental health due to their helath status. It’s important to recognize that these are both diseases because they both require outside help for any improvement. Also, progress for one may lead to progress for the other, and vice versa.
If one is driven to unhealthy behaviors by depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, or any other mental health disorder, then it’s important to recognize that one disease is a manifestation of the other. They may be able to lose weight, but if they don’t deal with the underlying cause, then they may have trouble with maintaining a weight loss.
Being an obese individual may also take a toll on one’s mental health. This can create a huge lack of motivation or self-confidence that just exacerbates one’s obesity disease. Without understanding that both of these diseases relate to one another, it may be very difficult to start the journey and finish it.
Obesity severely affects the quality of life, making it a debilitating disease
Last, but certainly not least, obesity is a disease because it severely affects the quality of life. Just like cancer, organ failure, neurological disorders, or any other debilitating disease, obesity does not allow one to live their life to the fullest extent. The physical strain that obesity takes on the body does not allow for these individuals to have full physical functionality. Anything that reduces the ability to move without restriction is a disability.
Obesity can also require accommodations like any other disability. Seating, transportation, and many other components of life have to be adjusted, and if those accommodations aren’t available, then there are very few solutions to working around that.
Although the world is very ableist-accommodating (which is its own problem) it’s still important to recognize the daily limitations that are possible with obesity. This is why it’s so important to recognize that it’s not just being overweight. It negatively impacts so many aspects of life, which is why it’s so important to get on the track towards optimal health.
Sources:
https://obesitymedicine.org/why-is-obesity-a-disease/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-20375742
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