It is no secret that obesity is an epidemic in the United States and is spreading worldwide, but there are not a lot of people who are certain of what makes someone obese.
The short definition of obesity is “the condition of being grossly fat or overweight.”, according to Dictionary.com. However, that definition is almost far too simplified for the public to tell the difference between morbid obesity and someone who is simply overweight.
Most modern-day doctors who are up to date on the latest in obesity research know when a weight increase is becoming a serious health problem to the point it could kill someone.
So, to answer the question “what is morbid obesity?” we must first distinguish the difference between the conditions of someone overweight and someone who is morbidly obese.
Signs and Symptoms of being Overweight
Being overweight is going to cause problems with your health, whether you are morbidly obese or not. When you have excess bodyfat in your bloodstream and organs it is inhibiting your natural bodily functions and in can decrease your quality of life. Aside from adiposity, the signs of obesity start to include but are not limited to:
Breathlessness- If you are having trouble breathing from just regular activities like walking up the stairs in your house, you could be overweight.
Increased sweating- When you are overweight your skin stretches and folds over itself, combined that with the increased storage of warm temperature from the fat itself, and you will become more sweaty than normal.
Snoring – Snoring can come from several reasons, such as anatomical issues with tonsils and your tongue but increased bodyfat can block air passages that inhibit breathing
Inability to cope with sudden Physical Activity- Anyone who is overweight will have a harder time with physical activities such as lifting things, jogging or bending over.
Exhaustion: When your body is overweight it is not running on proper energy. Instead the food that is being eaten is stored into bodyfat, most likely due to poor dietary conditions. This creates feelings of lethargy and exhaustion.
Back and Joint pains: When your muscles are cover in extra bodyfat, it increases physical weight all over your body, putting strain and excess pressure on your joints and muscles.
Signs and Symptoms of being Morbidly Obese
Most Americans are what doctors call, moderately obese, in which the patients are 30 to 50 lbs overweight. That has its healthrisks and decreases life expectancy by 3 years.
Morbid Obesity has all the same symptoms as regular obesity. The key difference between the Morbid Obesity and Obesity all has to do with that first word. Morbid.
Morbid Obesity is deadlier of a condition than regular obesity since it involves a higher percentage of body fat content. When it isn’t treated, there are increased health risks that are both internal and external which effects not only the quality of life for the patient, but the quantity of life.
The standard life expectancy of a morbidly obese individual is Most Americans are what they call, moderately obese, in which the patients are 30 to 50 lbs overweight.
However, patients who are morbidly obese are 100 lbs overweight and has a reduced life expectancy of about 10 years, which is about the same life expectancy that comes with smoking cigarettes lifelong.
Morbid Obesity increases the risk of and exaggerates:
· Arthritis
· Heart disease and blood lipid abnormalities
· Stroke
· type 2 diabetes
· Sleep Apnea (when you periodically stop breathing during sleep)
· Reproductive Problems (this ranges from a lack of libido for both men and women as well as the development of ovarian cysts)
· Gallstones
· Cancers
· Obesity Hypoventilation syndrome
· Metabolic syndrome
So, What is Morbid Obesity?
If I were to define it properly, I would say that morbid obesity is, “A life threatening condition in which excess bodyfat is stored near or on vital organs and block passages in the circulatory system, taking years off the patient’s life.”
Morbid obesity will cause conditions which will most likely kill you if you are not careful in managing your weight.
There are solutions, such as changing your diet and exercising regularly, but if you believe your condition is severe enough to the point where those will not work on their own, you may want to talk to your doctor about gastric bypass surgery.