Obesity Risks

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

Obesity can have profound social, psychological and health effects, which aren’t confined to adults. The consequences begin in childhood, and extend throughout adult life.
 

Obese youth are more likely to:

• Have risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
• Develop prediabetes, a condition which makes developing diabetes more likely, or diabetes type 2.
• Experience bone and joint problems.
• Have sleep apnea, a condition which affects breathing and oxygen delivery to the growing body during sleep.
• Develop fatty liver disease, gallstones and gastro-esophageal reflux (heartburn).
• Experience behavioral, social and psychological problems. These may result from the stigma and poor self-esteem that are associated with being an obese child in our society.
• Experience bullying and exclusion, which can result in psychological health problems, poor academic performance and low self-esteem.
• Grow up to become obese adults.

Obese adults are more likely to:

• Develop a wide variety of serious health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and osteoarthritis.
• Develop many types of cancer, including cancers of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• Have depression and anxiety disorders, which may result from the social and psychological consequences of being obese as a child or adult.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Unlike in the past, when undernutrition was a greater threat than overnutrition, more people around the world die from obesity-related diseases than from malnutrition every year.
• Many low- and middle-income countries now face a "double burden" of disease. Even as they continue to struggle with the problems of infectious diseases and poor nutrition, they are also experiencing a rapid increase in obesity, particularly in urban areas.
• This double burden is caused by inadequate pre-natal, infant and child nutrition, which is then followed by exposure to high-fat, energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods and a lack of physical activity as the child grows older.
• Thus, it is common to find undernutrition and obesity existing side-by-side within the same country, the same community and even within the same household in these settings.

Data compiled from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.