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Obesity Major Factor in Cancer

By: Mark Pearson

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There are many diseases which are complicated or even caused by being overweight or obese. Type-2 (adult onset) diabetes, hypertension, a number of cancers and osteoarthritis are four major diseases linked to obesity.

1. Type-2 diabetes

Type-2 diabetes used to be known as adult onset, or Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes. Type-2 diabetes tends to run in families and is more common in the obese. The incident rate is increasing correlating with the increase in obesity in the population.

The levels of sugar in the blood is controlled by the hormone called insulin and the manufacture of this hormone is limited in type-2 diabetes. Occasionally the body cells can also become "insulin resistant" to normal levels of the hormone which results in higher levels of of the hormone being needed.

This form of diabetes can be brought under control through eating properly, doing more exercise and losing excess weight.

2. High blood pressure (hypertension)

Hypertension is one of a number of 'risk factors' that can increase the probability of you developing serious conditions such as heart disease or stroke. Generally, high blood pressure equals high risk.

Blood pressure is a measure of the pressure of the blood against the arterial wall at the start of a heartbeat (systolic pressure) and end of the heartbeat (diastolic pressure).

During the day blood pressure will vary but if it remains consistently high over a period of time it is classified as "high blood pressure", often called "hypertension".

The obese have a risk of hypertension which is 5 times the norm as compared to people with a healthy weight and up to two-thirds of incidents of hypertension can be attributed to excess weight.

Changing lifestyle risk factors are part of the treatment for high blood pressure i.e. losing weight, taking more exercise, having a healthy diet, cutting down on alcohol and stopping smoking.

3. Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a type of (degenerative) arthritis that's caused by wear and tear of the joints. It makes your joints feel stiff and painful and commonly affects your hands, knees, hips and back.

You're more likely to get osteoarthritis if you're obese. Obese women have nearly 4 times the risk of osteoarthritis of the knee, and for men the risk is 5 times greater.

Carrying excess bodyweight increases the pressure on your joints, especially in your knees, ankles and lower back. The resulting extra joint stress can erode the protective cartilage between the bone.

Losing even a small amount of weight can ease the pressure on your joints, which in turn will help you to move around more freely and reduce your dependence on pain relieving medication.

4. Cancer

Most people do not associate obesity with cancer and are often surprised by the connection. The connection is not made usually because by time the diagnosis is made the patient is very unwell and thin.

There is now much evidence implicating obesity in an increase in the risk of cancers of the breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), colon, kidney, and esophagus.

In 2002, about 41,000 new cancer cases in the United States were estimated to be due to obesity. This means that about 3.2 percent of all new cancers are linked to obesity.

Another report estimated that in the United States obesity was implicated in 14 percent of deaths from cancer in men, and 20 percent in women.

Summarizing, being obese or overweight has many health implications, some of which can manifest themselves in serious diseases.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Further Reading: If you want to lose weight and get healthy you can find some useful information here.

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