Morbid Obesity - Health Risks
Morbid obesity (this term is synonymous
with "clinically severe obesity") is a disease of excess energy
stores in the form of fat. Morbid obesity correlates with a Body Mass
Index (BMI) of 40 kg/m2 or with being 100 pounds overweight. Being overweight
is associated with real physical problems which are now well recognized.
The most obvious is an increased mortality rate directly related to weight
increase. In a 12 year follow-up of 336,442 men and 419,060 women, it
was found that the mortality rates for men 50 percent above average weight
were increased approximately two fold. In the same weight group the mortality
was increased five fold for diabetics and four fold for those with digestive
tract disease. In women, the mortality was also increased two fold, while
in female diabetics the mortality risk increased eight fold and three
fold in those with digestive tract disease. It is clear that overweight
people of both sexes, especially young overweight people, tend to die
sooner than their lean contemporaries.
Source: American Society for Bariatric
Surgery
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