Can being overweight lead to health problems?

Overweight & obesity could raise the risk of several health issues, including, cardiac problems, diabetes & some cancers. Excess weight can result in short term or long run health issues for pregnant ladies and their babies.

The blog updates us more regarding the relation between being overweight and several health problems. It also informs us how reaching & maintaining normal weight can help us & our loved ones stay healthy as we grow older.

Health problems that are related to being overweight & obese

Being overweight could raise the risk of several health issues including:-

• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiac problems & strokes
• Some cancers
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnea
• Kidney disease
• Fatty liver disease
• Pregnancy problems like high blood pressure, high blood sugar in pregnancy & increased risk of cesarean delivery.

How can we tell if we weigh too much?

Gaining few kilograms in a year may not seem to us a big deal. However, these kilograms could add up with time. How could we tell if our weight could increase our chances of developing the health issues? Knowing 2 numbers could help us understand our risk i.e. our score of body mass index or BMI & the size of our waist in inches.

BMI or Body Mass Index

BMI is 1 way to specify if we have a normal weight, are overweight or are obese. It measures our weight in relation to our height & gives a score to help place us in a category:-

• Normal weight- BMI of 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight- BMI of 25 to 29.9
• Obese: BMI of 30 or above

Size of waist

Another vital number is the size of our waist in inches. Having excessive fat around our waist could raise the health risks even more as compared to having fat in the other areas of our body. Women having waist size over 35 inches & men having a waist size over 40 inches are at higher risk of developing diseases relevant to obesity.