Are You at Risk?

Obesity affects everything.

When a patient is obese or overweight, it raises their chances for developing many other chronic diseases and associated conditions. Over time, these conditions often compound and worsen, creating severe, lasting health problems that interfere with normal life activity and may even shorten life. Understanding the health risks associated with obesity can be a big motivator for people to take action to end their obesity and get healthy.

Severe obesity causes damage to nearly every organ system.

Obesity is linked to higher rates of serious illness, including:

Heart Disease and Stroke
Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death in the US. Being obese raises your risk of getting heart disease. Women who are obese and diabetic had nearly an 80% chance of developing heart disease, for men that number is 90%.

Diabetes
More than 80% of type 2 diabetes cases can be attributed to obesity.

Cancer
Obesity increases a patient’s risk of dying from cancer. For women, it increases uterine, gallbladder, ovary, breast, and colon cancers. For men, it increases colorectal and prostate cancers.

High Blood Pressure
Overweight people are 2 times more likely to have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Gallbladder Disease and Gallstones
Both are more common in overweight people.

Osteoarthritis
Extra weight on joints wears away cartilage, causing pain and often irreversible damage.  

Fatty Liver Disease
Obesity can cause severe liver damage, including cirrhosis of the liver and even liver failure.  Obesity has recently become the second leading cause of liver failure in the U.S.

Breathing Problems
Obesity can cause sleep apnea and asthma, conditions that can cause heart failure.

GERD
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease is more common in overweight and obese people. It raises the risk of erosive esophagitis and cancer of the esophagus.

Obesity is harder on your body than smoking or drinking.

Obese people face a 67% increase in the risk of chronic disease in comparison to those of normal weight. In contrast the increased risk from daily smoking is 25% and the increased risk from heavy drinking is only 12%.*

Obesity causes just as much illness as 20 years on the calendar.

Being obese has the same impact on the development of chronic disease that it would have to age from 30 years old to 50 years old. This makes obesity a leading cause of chronic disease, beating out heavy smoking, drinking, drug use, and other known causes of disease.*

The costs of obesity

People who are obese spend more on health care than smokers and heavy drinkers. Only aging has a greater effect on medication costs.*

* Source: RAND Corporation, 2002

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