Article 24: Obesity as a Modern Disease and its Harm to Various Parts of the Human Body
Obesity is a "disease of modern civilization," a "disease of affluence," and a "disease of laziness." A special "obesity sampling survey" was conducted by relevant departments in Beijing. The results showed that over 40% of adults in Beijing are overweight, with 32.7% of men and 67.3% of women overweight. The obesity rate among primary and secondary school students has exceeded the warning line of 20%.
Obesity is a global social problem affecting both developed and developing countries. It not only impacts people's work, life, and studies, but also leads to numerous diseases.
An investigation revealed that with improved living standards and reduced physical activity, the number of overweight and obese individuals among 25-year-olds with normal glucose tolerance test results has nearly doubled in five years. Obese individuals commonly suffer from conditions such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high insulin levels.
Overweight and obesity account for more than 70% of coronary heart disease cases. Life expectancy also decreases with increasing obesity levels.
In recent years, weight loss has become a trend, with a wide variety of methods available. However, many of these methods fall into common misconceptions, leading to adverse effects such as health problems. Currently popular short-term, rapid weight loss methods, various weight-loss drugs, and surgical procedures can all produce negative consequences.
However, one should not be optimistic about liposuction. Liposuction removes excess fat through incisions, and after the surgery, local skin sagging, unevenness, or minimal improvement may occur. It may also affect the function of organs such as the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys.
Negative emotions during the weight loss process can also affect its success. When a person is in a state of anxiety and distress for a long time, their nervous and endocrine systems will become imbalanced, and their immune system will also be weakened.
Some people, especially women, are overly obsessed with achieving a perfect figure and take short-sighted approaches to lose weight, such as drinking slimming tea, taking diet pills, engaging in extreme physical training, and trying every possible way to control their diet.
In the United States, 300,000 people die each year from obesity-related diseases. Some countries are now experiencing a majority of obese individuals, something unprecedented in human history.
In the United States, 61% of adults are overweight, and in Russia, 54% are obese. In the UK, the obesity rate is 51%, and in Germany, it's 50%. Across Europe, more than half of people aged 35-65 are overweight. The obesity problem is also becoming increasingly prominent in developing countries.
The problem of obesity among teenagers is also getting worse. For example, one in ten teenagers aged 6 to 17 in the United States is obese.
A report by the Worldwatch Institute points out that many of these teenage obese children will become obese adults, and because their metabolism changes during adolescence, the diseases they develop in adulthood will be difficult to treat.
Obesity should no longer be seen as just a personal problem affecting appearance; it has become an epidemic affecting the whole world.
As living standards improve and people's nutritional status improves, the number of overweight people is increasing. The rapidly growing obesity population is bringing new health problems to people.
Obesity is not the same as good nutrition. Like emaciation, it is caused by nutritional deficiencies. The only difference is the amount of fat stored in the body. Obesity is not only due to excess body fat, but also to a deficiency of certain nutrients.
Many obese children often have insufficient amounts of trace elements such as iron and calcium, leading to various nutritional deficiency diseases such as iron-deficiency anemia and rickets.
A social survey in the UK shows that obesity has a serious impact on interpersonal relationships, work, and self-confidence.
This survey of 2,000 women found that many resorted to unhealthy and even dangerous methods to lose weight, including making themselves sick and taking diet pills. Taking diet pills is considered a dangerous practice by the British Dietetic Association.
The survey found that 70% of obese people are perceived by others as having lower IQs, 59% eat secretly, 84% believe that being thinner would improve their social lives, 50% do not want their sexual partners to see them naked, and 40% of women prefer to have sex in the dark.
More than half of overweight women have been ridiculed by family, friends, and colleagues. Britain is, in fact, a country that advocates for weight loss, with 17 million people losing weight to some extent each year. One in five girls aged 11-17 are trying to lose weight.
Girls are in the stage of menarche. At this time, the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis is not fully developed and is prone to endocrine disorders. Menstrual disorders are a common disease in obese children, most of which manifest as amenorrhea.
Menstrual disorders are not just a gynecological issue; if left untreated, they can develop into systemic diseases such as infertility, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, and bone and joint disorders. Therefore, teenage obesity should never be tolerated.
The main causes of obesity among teenage girls today are "two excesses and one deficiency": excessive food intake, excessive nutrition, and insufficient energy expenditure. Poor eating habits are a major contributing factor. Many parents love to eat fried and high-fat foods, and children who consume these high-energy foods for extended periods, coupled with insufficient physical activity, inevitably become obese.
In response to these situations, girls should maintain a balanced diet and increase their opportunities for physical exercise. If they find abnormal menstruation or rapid weight gain in a short period of time, they should be taken to the hospital for medical treatment and regulated under the guidance of a doctor. They should not take it lightly, nor should they blindly try to lose weight.
Obesity can lead to diseases, and similarly, excessive weight loss can cause significant harm to many girls. Many girls who try to lose weight do so with the intention of rapid weight reduction, unaware that this can have a major impact on their future health.
Hormonal imbalances and menstrual irregularities are the most likely consequences. Many girls experience amenorrhea one or two years after starting a weight loss program. If doctors are unaware of this history, treatment will not be very effective, and weight loss can potentially affect a girl's lifelong health. Therefore, teenage girls must only attempt weight loss under the guidance of a doctor and should never act rashly.
When a person gains weight, the lungs must deliver more oxygen to meet their needs. However, the lungs do not increase in size accordingly with weight gain, and excess fat in the lower abdomen can also restrict lung function. Undergoing surgery under anesthesia carries a significantly higher risk. For asthma patients, the problem is even more severe if they are obese.
High blood pressure often occurs in obese people. High blood pressure may lead to stroke, kidney degeneration, and varying degrees of damage to organs such as the heart. Therefore, patients who are overweight and have high blood pressure must undergo an appropriate weight loss plan.
When a person gains weight, the heart has to work harder to supply nutrients to all the organs in the body. The heavier the weight, the greater the burden on the heart. Therefore, obese people are more likely to suffer from heart disease than the average person.
Excessive cholesterol and lipids accumulating on the arterial walls can narrow blood vessels or even cause them to rupture, leading to stroke or heart attack. Studies show that obese individuals have a very high chance of developing atherosclerosis.
The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. Long-term alcohol abuse, diabetes, obesity, and other conditions can lead to fatty liver. If left untreated, it can cause liver cell necrosis and eventually cirrhosis.
Diabetes is almost a disease prevalent among obese individuals. Studies have shown that among those with diabetes whose condition was caused by a high-sugar, high-calorie diet, 70% to 85% experienced improvement after losing weight. Therefore, only by maintaining an ideal weight and cooperating with doctors and nutritionists can the risk of death be eliminated.
Obese pregnant women are more likely to experience difficult labor or prolonged labor, which can affect the health of the fetus. Furthermore, severely obese women not only have difficulty conceiving, but also have a higher mortality rate for both the mother and fetus; moreover, due to excessive muscle tissue, surgery becomes more difficult.
Among the leading causes of malignant tumors, 35% are due to poor dietary habits, such as consuming excessive amounts of high-calorie and high-fat foods, which leads to the production of excessive free radicals and causes cells to transform into cancer cells. Excessive weight can cause joint swelling and inflammation because the bones cannot bear the weight.
Obese people are large in size and often need to exert more physical strength to complete a certain amount of work. In addition, their slow reaction and lack of agility make them prone to accidents.