healthier you today

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Obesity comes with serious health risks. Aside from dealing with things like finding clothes that fit or fitting into an airplane seat or just being unhappy with the way you look, being obese puts your life at risk. Obesity puts you at a higher risk of diseases that can kill - like heart attack and stroke.

An obese person is generally someone more than 40 to 75 pounds overweight. A person is considered morbidly obese if they weigh 100 pounds or more than what they should. Both conditions come with higher health risks.

When youre obese, your body is hauling more weight than it was designed to carry. This puts extra pressure on bones, muscles and joints. Imagine the difference between carrying a sack with 50 pounds of weight on your back compared to a sack with 5 pounds of weight. Now think about the burden that 50-pounder puts on your frame.

Bones are strong and rugged, so that extra burden falls on the weakest part of your frame: the joints. Hips, ankles and knees are at particular risk, because they carry the weight of the entire upper body.

Joints are naturally our bodies weakest spots because it is here where separate bone pieces come together. The knees are at particular risk for an obese person. The knee is a very complex joint that faces wear and tear with every single step we take.

Obesity, puts much more pressure on the knees than usual. If you are overweight, every step puts twice, triple, sometimes four times the normal pressure on those joints - wearing them out prematurely.

While hips joints and ankles are also at risk, its the knees that generally carry the brunt of the weight and absorb pressure, so this is where the injuries often appear first.

Aside from the extra weight on the frame and joints, all that extra weight puts pressure on the bodys systems too. First of all, large amounts of body fat dont just show up on the outside. Fat tissue can form internally around organs.

Large amounts of body fat can actually crowd internal organs and put pressure against them. This pressure can cause the organs to start working differently, and can interfere with normal bodily functions.

All the extra poundage makes it harder for organs to operate and makes the body work harder. This is why obesity often leads to high blood pressure and a strained heart. Heart disease, heart attacks and strokes could develop.

Obesity also reflects a poor diet that is high on calories from unhealthy foods. Consuming too much sugar and processed foods can lead to diabetes. And the diabetes can lead to damaging blood vessels, nerves and eyes.

In some cases, people may lose their eyesight or a foot or leg to diabetes because of poor circulation.

But don’t be disheartened. Diabetes, heart disease and other ill effects of obesity can be avoided - even reversed. That is, if you take command of your weight.

Many have succeeded by sheer dedication and commitment to a sensible diet and exercise plan. You can overcome obesity too!