Did you Know?
- Obesity is the # 2 cause of preventable death in the United States.
- 60 million Americans with age of 20 years and older are obese.
- 9 million children and teens age 6-19 are overweight.
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of health conditions and diseases including: Breast cancer, Coronary heart disease, Type II diabetes, Sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, Osteoarthritis, Colon cancer, Hypertension and Stroke.
Obesity is a major contributor to the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in the developed world, and yet has only recently been afforded the same level of attention as other risk factors of coronary artery disease.
Shifts toward a less physically demanding lifestyle and more stress are observed today in different populations, and this scourge associated with obesity implicates a corresponding increase in the number of individuals afflicted with the metabolic syndrome.
Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with cardiovascular disease and increased morbidity and mortality. It is apparent that a variety of adaptations/alterations in cardiac structure and function occur as excessive adipose tissue accumulates.
Most of the comorbidities (hypertension; dyslipidemia, particularly reductions in HDL cholesterol; and impaired glucose tolerance or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) relating obesity to coronary artery disease increase as BMI increases, they also relate to body fat distribution.
Treatment of obesity should be based on its severity and the presence of co-morbidities, congestive heart failure, dyslipidemia, hypertension, non-insulin dependent diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnea. Maintaining a BMI < 25 throughout adult life has been recently recommended. For most patients with a BMI between 25 and 30, lifestyle modifications including diet and exercise are appropriate.