Change the odds on good health in your favour by eating well.
High blood pressure, which is three times more common among overweight people than slim people, is also a big risk factor. And even where there are no problems with blood fats or blood pressure, just carrying excess weight, especially around the middle, seems to increase the likelihood of developing heart disease.
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Body fat
This is not always the bad guy! We need a certain amount of body fat to protect and insulate our organs; it also has a role in producing certain beneficial hormones, and protects against loss of bone mass (osteoporosis).
Type 2 diabetes
This condition affects 1.4 million people in the UK and possibly a further million who have not had their condition diagnosed, according to the charity Diabetes UK. Type 2 diabetes is sometimes called ‘late onset’ because, unlike type 1, it tends to develop in adult life, and being overweight is a big risk factor: over 80 per cent of adults with type 2 diabetes have a BMI of more than 25 when they are diagnosed. Children and teenagers are also being diagnosed more frequently as obesity rises.
Type 2 diabetes is caused when the insulin that the pancreas produces in the body fails to control blood sugar properly (insulin resistance) or when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin for the body’s needs. Research shows that excess weight, especially around the waistline, increases insulin resistance so the pancreas has to work harder to get the same effect. Having too much sugar in the blood causes symptoms such as excessive thirst, blurred vision, fatigue and passing urine frequently. Having too much insulin in the blood causes other problems, such as increasing blood pressure and raising the level of various fats in the blood. This puts people with type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart disease and stroke; untreated diabetes can also cause serious damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves and circulation.
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‘Syndrome X’
Also known as metabolic syndrome, this term refers to a collection of symptoms that include evidence of insulin resistance, fat carried around the middle (‘apple’ shape), high blood pressure and raised levels of unhealthy fats (LDL cholesterol and triglycerides) in the blood. Together, they represent an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes or stroke. Some diets claim to have specific benefits for people with Syndrome X, but any healthy eating and exercise programme, leading to a five or 10 per cent initial weight loss, should reduce all these symptoms without any special diets being needed.
Cancers
Cancer Research UK states that after smoking, obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancers. The links between being overweight and cancer are complex and not all of them are fully understood.However, it seems that obesity can unbalance the function of certain hormones, which could increase the risk of hormonally-sensitive cancers in women, such as cancer of the uterus, ovaries, cervix and endometrium (uterus lining). Excess abdominal fat (the ‘apple’ shape) has also been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in women after the menopause. Cancers of the digestive system, such as colon or rectal cancer, may have more of a link to a high-fat, low-fibre diet, which is likely to lead to weight gain.
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Weight reduction benefits
Here is an overview of the average benefits of a 10 per cent (10 kg or 22 lb) reduction in weight of a man with a starting weight of 100 kg (220 lb) or just under 16 stone.
High blood pressure
Blood pressure is measured by taking two readings: the systolic pressure (the first, higher figure, taken when the heart contracts) and the dystolic pressure (the second, lower pressure, taken when the heart is relaxed). A normal level is 120/80, and a reading that is consistently over 140/90 is unhealthily high. Many people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, but that does not necessarily mean that there is no problem: untreated high blood pressure can cause a stroke, heart disease or damage to other organs in the body.
Being overweight is not the only cause of high blood pressure: eating too much salt, drinking too much alcohol and being inactive can also contribute. The good news is that as well as losing weight, changing your diet and lifestyle is a quick and effective way to reduce your blood pressure.
Gall bladder disease
One large study found that overweight women were 33 per cent more likely to develop gallstones than a similar group of healthy-weight women. Gallstones are a painful side-effect of the build-up of fats in the blood, as they are caused by clumps of cholesterol in the gall bladder, which plays a part in digestion. Cancer of the gall bladder is a rarer complication.
You lose, you win!
As we said at the beginning of this chapter, knowing the facts about the serious health consequences of being overweight is not all bad news. The flipside of the problems of gaining weight is that losing weight can bring quick and significant health benefits. A reassuring body of research has concluded that if you are seriously overweight (BMI of 30 or more), then losing just 10 per cent of your body weight can improve your health and even add years to your life.
Other health benefits
As well as the established evidence of improvements to these life-threatening aspects of obesity, successful slimmers often report that losing weight benefits their health and well being in many other ways, too. These can include improving the symptoms of asthma; less heavy or painful periods; reducing backache, arthritis pain and gout; improving digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome; getting a better night’s sleep (being seriously overweight can lead to a distressing and dangerous condition called obstructive sleep apnoea); and a general lifting of mood.
Add to all these benefits the overall feel-good factor that comes from having more energy, feeling fitter and healthier, and experiencing the confidence that comes from knowing that you are looking good. It is hardly surprising that people who have lost weight successfully nearly always say: ‘I just wish I’d done it sooner.’
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