Obesity increases the risk of death 5-fold

Morbid or severe clinical obesity is a disease characterized by perennial and progressive excess accumulation of body fat, to which are added other serious related pathologies, called comorbidities such as cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, endocrinological and hormonal, gonadal and genital, dermatological, bone and in general a deterioration of the quality of life.

How do I know if I have obesity?

If a patient has obesity it is assessed with the Body Mass Index (B.M.I.). Mild obesity presents a BMI equal to or higher than 30, while within morbid obesity, the patient is considered to be super-obese when his or her BMI is equal to or higher than 50, and extreme obesity is considered to be at a BMI of 60 or higher.

Consequences of obesity

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome, which usually appears with mild obesity, increases the risk of death by a factor of 5. Mortality due to obesity is usually due to myocardial infarction for presenting one or more risk factors such as:

  • Arterial hypertension
  • Blood glucose
  • Insulin resistance
  • Apnea hypercholesterolemia or dyslipidemia
  • Sleep apnea
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Fatty liver
  • Gastroesophageal reflux
  • Arthrosis

Metabolic Syndrome is considered when: the abdominal perimeter exceeds 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women, has a blood glucose index of 110 or higher, blood pressure levels of 140/90 or higher, triglyceridemia of 150 or higher, high levels of LDL cholesterol with a decrease in HDL cholesterol to less than 40 mg/dL in men or 50 mg/dL in women.

It should first be treated medically, but if such treatment fails and the metabolic syndrome persists for more than 5 years, it is time to consider the surgical option: a safe and non-aggressive technique such as tubular sleeve gastrectomy.

Early mortality in obese patients

Morbid obesity is associated with increased mortality at an early age. Complications and co-morbidities cause young obese people to die earlier than slim people of the same age. According to scientific studies, surgical treatment for obesity causes a decrease in the risk of mortality of up to three times, almost on a par with people without obesity. In contrast, other less effective treatments for weight loss, such as dieting, did not represent such an important change in the health of the patients analyzed.

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The risk of type 2 diabetes increases up to 10 times in patients with moderate obesity and much more in those with morbid obesity.

The risk of death from cancer in obese women increases by 5.4 times for endometrial cancer, 3.6 times for gallbladder cancer, 2.4 times for cervical cancer, 1.6 times for ovarian cancer and 1.5 times for breast cancer. In morbidly obese men, the risk of death from colon cancer increases by 1.7 and another 1.7 from prostate cancer.

Social stigma of obesity

Obese people can suffer episodes of discrimination and lack of respect due to the social stigma attached to their disease. Thus, the obese patient suffers social stress that produces psychological alterations, anxiety and an important alteration of social, interpersonal and couple relationships.

It must be made clear that obesity is not a disease produced by lack of willpower, but a complicated multifactorial pathology influenced by genetic, metabolic, family, environmental, social, psychological, cultural and socio-economic factors. The obese patient should not feel guilty and defeated in the face of the disease, but needs help from specialists in this type of pathology and obesity surgery.