What health complications can obesity have?

Obesity produces a progressive and general deterioration of the organism; basically it entails an accelerated ageing. It affects both physical and emotional health, the latter is often the one that takes away the patient’s quality of life “does not allow him to live happily or at ease with himself.

Obesity acts like a cancer, infiltrating fat “every corner of the body” and even changing the personality and emotions of patients. Almost all obese patients lose emotional control over their intake. It seems that “the whole organism is overturned in the objective of fattening indefinitely…”, which is why it is considered to act like a cancer. Obese patients always live less (in addition to having worse quality of life) than non-obese patients.

The morbidly obese organism ends up manifesting a typical metabolic syndrome, which consists of an increase in cholesterol, triglycerides and blood glucose.

Metabolic alterations are associated with an increase in oxidation and accelerated cellular aging, which soon manifests itself in the arteries, through arterial hypertension, and an increase in the risk of suffering cerebral thrombosis (CVA).

When these diseases manifest themselves, they are only the “tip of the iceberg,” representing a deteriorated organism that “begins to fail.

Detail of possible complications associated with obesity:

• Respiratory complications: Respiratory failure, sleep apnea syndrome (Pickwick syndrome).
• Cardiovascular complications: Angor and myocardial infarction, heart failure, peripheral vascular insufficiency / varicose veins.
• Metabolic complications: Diabetes Mellitus type II, high blood pressure, dyslipemia (hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia), hyperuricemia.
• Nephro-urinary complications: Nephrotic syndrome, urinary incontinence.
• Digestive complications: gastroesophageal reflux, cholelithiasis.
  Sexual complications: amenorrhea, hypermenorrhea, infertility, pre-eclampsia.
• Infectious complications: necrotizing pancreatitis, necrotizing skin infections.
  Joint Complications: Generalized Osteoarthritis.
• Neurological complications: “Pseudotumor Cerebri”.
• Oncological complications: Increased risk of colon, kidney, prostate, endometrial and breast cancer.
• Psychosocial complications: reduced employment, job discrimination, psychosis, anxiety disorders.