Obesity: Risks and Impacts

Maintaining a healthy diet is important for many reasons - one of them being to avoid obesity.The Mayo Clinic defines obesity as "a complex disease involving an excessive amount of body fat."

Obesity opens the door to many other conditions and complications.

This Byte will teach you the impacts of obesity and tips of how to avoid that path.

The condition is not just a result of eating too much. Your genes and environment also play a role. The general cause is eating many more calories than your body burns in a day.

Physicians typically use your Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if you are obese or not. This calculation takes your height, weight and age into consideration.

Obesity is more than just appearance related - it is health related.

Obesity can cause:

1. High blood pressure

2. Diabetes

3. Heart disease/issues

4. Difficulty breathing/functioning

5. Stroke

Obesity can lead to many complications that lower your quality of life. A few of them are on the right:

Even if it doesn't lead to any conditions, obesity can impact your movements, physical condition and mental state.

It's important to go see a doctor the moment you feel your weight becoming a problem - in most cases, it's a very treatable condition.

Although genes play a role, there are a few steps you can take to prevent it. Think of what you would do if you wanted to lose weight and follow a similar plan.

1. Control your diet - avoid fattening foods full of cholesterol. Swap red meats for white ones and add vegetables to your diet.

2. Exercise - keep an active lifestyle and regularly exercise. It can help you lose weight and also help keep your heart healthy.

Whether you're concerned about obesity or not, it's important to do your best to prevent conditions like this for your longterm health and wellness.

Ask yourself - am I active enough? Do I eat healthy most of the time?

Small changes in your lifestyle can have large impacts on your health! Change what you can now.