If you're obese, it's more serious than being a few pounds overweight. You're carrying a lot of fat on your body.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Flier JS.
Obesity.
In: Braunwald E, Hauser SL, Fauci AS, et al (editors). Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 15th edition. McGraw Hill, New York, U.S.A.; 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

Having a heavy body can be uncomfortable. And it can also cause other problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Fontaine KR, Barofsky I.
Obesity and health-related quality of life.
Obesity Reviews. 2001; 2: 173-182.

 

 

 

 

 

³

If you're very large, moving around might be a struggle. So you might get out of breath. If you have a lot of fat around your neck and chest, you might need to take short, shallow breaths. The extra fat makes it difficult for air to flow easily in and out of your lungs.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Robinson TD, Grunstein RR.
Obesity and respiratory complications.
In: Kopelman PG, (editor). Management of obesity and related disorders. Martin Dunitz Ltd, London; 2001: 103-125.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

If you find it hard to breathe, you might not be getting enough oxygen into your blood. This can make you feel tired. Carrying extra weight can be tiring, too. Some people find that everyday activities become a struggle. It might take a lot of effort to walk upstairs or carry your groceries.

As you gain weight, your ankles and knees need to work harder. These joints and the muscles in your legs and lower back might become sore and stiff. Your posture might suffer too. You might hunch and fold in on yourself.

If you have folds of fat, the skin underneath the folds can stay moist from perspiration. This makes it more likely that you'll get a skin infection. The skin under large breasts and buttocks can also rub and become sore.

Varicose veins are swollen, twisted blood vessels. They often look lumpy and blue. They aren't dangerous but they can look unattractive. And they might make your legs ache. They're partly caused by the strain of carrying extra weight.

Some larger women find that their periods become irregular and might stop altogether. This is because the extra fat can upset the balance of

 

 

 

 

 

hormones
Hormones are chemicals that are made in certain parts of the body. They travel through the bloodstream and have an effect on other parts of the body. For example, the female sex hormone estrogen is made in a woman's ovaries. Estrogen has many different effects on a woman's body. It makes the breasts grow at puberty and helps control periods. It is also needed to get pregnant.

 

 

 

 

 

hormones in your body.

You might feel you can't control how much you eat and can't stop eating when you feel full. You might have cravings for sweet or fatty foods. Some people go on a diet then eat large amounts of food. This is called binge eating disorder.

Not everyone who is obese feels this way. But if the way you think about food is causing you problems, you might have an eating disorder.

To learn more, see our articles on anorexia and bulimia.

Being obese can also affect the quality of your life and how you feel about yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Flier JS, Foster DW.
Eating disorders: obesity, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa.
In: Wilson JD, Foster DW, Kronenberg HM, et al (editors). Williams textbook of endocrinology. 9th edition. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, U.S.A.; 1998.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults.
Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines (accessed 20 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

See How obesity affects your life.

The information on ConsumerReportsHealth.org should not be viewed as a substitute for a consultation with a medical or health professional. The information is meant to enhance communication with your doctor, not replace it. Consumers Union can not be liable for any loss, injury, or other damages related to your use of this information.

Your use of this information is subject to our User Agreement available at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.