CANCER TOPS LIST OF SURPRISING
HEALTH PROBLEMS TIED TO OBESITY
By LIZ NEPORENT
(@lizzyfit)
Aug 14, 2014, 12:48 PM ET
Getty Images
By now you’ve probably heard that obesity increases the
risk of heart disease and diabetes. But you might not know that the extra
weight can have other serious health consequences, including cancer.
A new
study found that 10 percent of all gallbladder, kidney, liver, and colon
cancers could be attributed to excess weight. A whopping 41 percent of uterine
cancers were tied to obesity, according to the study published today in The Lancet.
More
than 36 percent of Americans are now considered obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. An additional 34 percent are considered overweight.
Read on to learn eight surprising
effects of obesity.
SURPRISING
EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Cancer
|
The Lancet study of 5.4 million people found
that every 1-point population-wide increase in body mass index or BMI would
result in 3,790 additional cancers each year. That’s worrying, considering that
the average BMI in the U.S. has risen nearly 2.5 points for men and almost four
points for women since 1971, according to a 2013 study.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that
obesity contributes to 34,000 new cases of cancer in men and 50,000 in women
each year. But if every adult reduced their BMI by 1 percent – a loss of
roughly 2.2 pounds – about 100,000 new cases of cancer could be avoided,
according to the agency’s website.
SURPRISING
EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Migraines
|
A study published in the journal Neurology
revealed what a real headache carrying extra weight can be.
Johns Hopkins researchers surveyed nearly
4,000 people to find that the higher their body mass index, the greater their
chances were of having episodic migraines. Those who were obese were 81 percent
more likely to experience at least 14 migraine headaches each month compared to
people who were a healthy weight. Obese women over the age of 50 suffered from
chronic headaches the most.
SURPRISING
EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Infertility
|
Overweight women have a harder time getting
pregnant. One Indian study of 300 morbidly obese women found that over 90
percent of them developed polycystic ovarian disease, a condition associated
with infertility, over a three-year period.
As with cancer, the association between
obesity and infertility isn't entirely clear.
"Obesity is an inflammatory state and
that alone might decrease fertility," noted Dr. Marc Bessler, director of
the Center for Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital
at Columbia University Medical Center. "It may also be the result of
hormone changes produced by the fatty tissue."
Bessler said that many of his heavier patients
experienced difficulty getting pregnant. And many infertility clinics don't
accept female patients with high body mass indexes given their diminished
chances of conceiving. However, Bessler said some of his patients become
pregnant just months after weight-loss surgery once they had dropped a few
pounds.
SURPRISING
EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Premature Birth
|
For heavier women who do get pregnant, the
worries aren't over. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association
found that obesity increases a woman's chance of having a pre-term baby,
especially when her body mass index is 35 or higher.
The study's authors speculate that having too
much fat may inflame and weaken the uterine and cervical membranes. Whatever
the reason, it can have devastating effects. Premature birth is the leading
cause of infant death and long-term disabilities.
SURPRISING
EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Sleep Disorders
|
Sleep and excess weight do not make good
bedfellows. Nearly 80 percent of older, obese Americans report having problems
with sleep, an American Sleep Foundation survey found.
Poor sleep contributes to a host of diseases
including diabetes, heart disease and, ironically, obesity itself. Numerous
studies link short sleep to expanding waistlines, including the Harvard Nurses'
Study, which found that those who slumbered less than five hours a night were
15 percent more likely to gain weight than those who enjoyed at least seven
hours of sleep.
Dr. Donald Hensrud, a
nutritionist and preventive medicine expert in the department of endocrinology,
diabetes, metabolism and nutrition at the Mayo Clinic, said one of the most immediate health dangers for
many obese people is sleep apnea, a condition in which a person gasps or stops
breathing momentarily while asleep.
"Sleep apnea can be caused by increased
fat around the neck area that presses down and closes off the soft tissues of
the airways while a person is lying down, especially on his back," Hensrud
said. "This means the person does not get good quality sleep, has less
oxygen in the blood stream, and the heart has to work harder."
SURPRISING
EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Bullying
|
Though fat people are often the butt of the
joke, obesity stigma is no laughing matter.
A Yale study found that weight is the number
one reason people are bullied at any age and those who are bullied have lower
self-esteem, higher levels of depression and increased risk of suicide.
The main source of ridicule, according to the
Yale researchers: Loved ones.
"More than 40 percent of children who
seek treatment for weight loss say they have been bullied or teased by a family
member," said the study's lead author, Rebecca Puhl. "When we asked
obese women who stigmatized them the most, 72 percent said it was someone in
their family."
Puhl said discussions with loved ones about
their burgeoning weight often come across as judgmental and derogatory, even
when intentions are good. However, offering support and encouragement is the
most effective approach to help someone struggling to drop off pounds.
8
SURPRISING EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Difficulty Finding Doctors
|
The number two source of stigma, after loved
ones?
Puhl said her studies have found that 67
percent of overweight men and women report being shamed or bullied in the
doctor's office. And 50 percent of doctors found that fat patients were
"awkward, ugly, weak-willed and unlikely to comply with treatment" while
24 percent of nurses said they were repulsed by their obese patients.
A negative reception from a healthcare
provider is especially detrimental to obese people, Puhl stressed, because they
already contend with a greater number of health problems than average.
"Besides jeopardizing discussions between
patients and healthcare providers, someone who is obese is more likely to avoid
the doctor altogether even when they have a problem," she said.
However Puhl noted that the knife cuts both
ways. Her studies reveal that people are less apt to follow doctor's orders and
more likely to switch to a new provider if their physician is overweight.
8
SURPRISING EFFECTS OF OBESITY
Smaller Wages
|
Wider waistbands seem to widen the pay gap.
One George Washington University School of
Public Health study found a strong connection between greater obesity and
shrinking wages. Examining data from the 2004 National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth, the researchers discovered that wages among the obese were $8,666 less
for females and $4,772 lower for males compared with their thinner
counterparts. In 2008, the researchers found wages were $5,826 less for obese
females -- a 14.6 percent penalty over normal-weight females.
Slimmer females, especially, do seem to have
fatter wallets. In a University of Florida study, women who weighed 25 pounds
less than the group average, earned $15,572 a year more than women of normal
weight and women who tipped the scales at 25 pounds above the average weight
earned an average of $13,847 less than an average-weight female. They found no
such disparity among men.
A version of this story previously ran on
ABCNews.com.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cancer-tops-list-health-problems-tied-obesity/story?id=24977349