1. Overweight people are 2 to 6 times more likely to develop hypertension, have a stroke, thrombosis and clots in the legs. Excess body fat can also lead to impaired cardiac function.
2. Excess body fat can lead to insulin resistance and increase the likelihood of type 2 diabetes in both adults and children.
3. Obesity can be a factor in the development of cancer, because of the eating patterns that get us to obesity (most people don't get obese by eating fruits and vegetables) also increase the likelihood of developing some kind of cancer. Inactivity also increases the risk of cancer. Some estimates suggest that poor diet and exercise may account for up to a third of the cancer risk. The types of cancer linked with obesity are endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer.
4. Obese people are more likely to have degenerative joint disease. It makes it more likely to have sleep apnea, mechanical breathing constraints (particularly during exercise). It just takes more effort to work the chest wall if it has huge amounts of fat.
5. Obese people have more problems with anesthesia during surgery, as well as compromised wound healing. It also increases the likelihood of developing gallbladder disease.
6. A newly discovered consequence is fatty infiltration of the liver. This is known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Some estimates suggest that as the liver becomes infiltrated with fat, it causes hepatitis and that can lead to liver failure.
7. Obesity also has deep psychological effects: depression, being stigmatized by people, bullying and discrimination. This is really one of the least accepted forms of discriminations. We have made great advances in our culture: most of us accept that we can have different religious beliefs, or that we can have different ethnicity and still have the same rights. However, we are not sensitive to the individuals who are overweight.
8. In 2002, the cost of overweight in the US was estimated to be 92 billion dollars!
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