What causes obesity?
We
all have and need fat tissue in our bodies. When there
is too much body fat, the result is obesity. Obesity is
not a sign of a person being out of control. It is a
serious medical disease that affects over a quarter of
adults in the United States, and about 14% of children
and adolescents. It is the second leading cause of
preventable death after smoking.
What is
Morbid Obesity?
Morbid
obesity is a term that physicians use to describe the
degree of obesity at which point serious conditions
occur as a result of, or associated with, a specific
weight. Some of these conditions are as follows:
Diabetes Mellitus
Degenerative Arthritis
Hypertension
Gallbladder DiseaseCoronary Heart DiseaseInfertility
Stroke
Increased Risk of Cancer of Breast or Uterus
Congestive heart Failure
Varicose Veins
Restrictive Lung Disease
Psychological IncapacitySleep Apnea
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
It is
estimated that 50% of American adults and 25% of
American children are overweight, while approximately 6
million Americans are morbidly obese; that is, have a
BMI of 40 kg/m2 or greater.
It is
hopeful that someday we will find a cure for obesity.
However, today, the best we can do it to attempt to
control obesity and its complications. Just as in
treating cancer, this is best done in a
multidisciplinary fashion – combating a variety of
surgical and non-surgical therapies toward a common
goal.
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