What is Being Overweight Doing to Your Body Really?
We live in a revolutionary time of body acceptance and what it means to look and feel sexy. People are influencing style and fashion instead of the other way around. Now, more than ever, people want to see inclusivity and variety. Mainstream media has certainly come a long way from the stick-thin models that used to grace our magazines in the 90’s and early 2000’s. People, (woman especially it would seem) no longer want to be held to unrealistic standards of “beauty”. We are raising the bar and challenging the status quo for what it means to look and feel beautiful in our own skin.
While the time for change was imminent, we are now facing an epidemic of Global proportions that cannot be ignored. In 2021, Statistics Canada recorded 65% of the Canadian population as being overweight or obese. It also reported that 9% of adults were underweight… leaving only 26% of Canadians within a healthy BMI range… and those results are nothing short of staggering. Could it be that perhaps we have gone a little too far in the other direction in our pursuit of body equality while ignoring its implications and long-term effects?
Almost 85% of people in developed and developing countries live sedentary lives, resulting in poor physical health, mood disorders and accelerated aging. While we’ve succeeded at generating more realistic images in the media, especially for our vulnerable youth, are we leaving health and wellness in the background in our efforts to include everyone or for fear of offending someone? How many of our children are being raised by televisions and gaming systems? Being overweight or obese is not just a concern regarding one’s appearance and self-esteem, it’s a medical problem that increases the risk of other diseases and health problems.
Health is something we take for granted every day. Generally speaking, it’s not something most people think about until it’s already been compromised. It’s easy to brush off a little weight gain and tell yourself, you’ll deal with it later or that it’s not that important. Maybe you’re the person who’s grown exhausted of trying. We live in a world of excess information and fad diets. But the truth is, that excess belly fat you’re carrying around can put a serious strain on your bones and internal organs, causing them to work overtime. Excess weight, especially obesity diminishes almost every aspect of health from reproductivity and respiration function to memory, mood and quality of life. Some studies have even suggested that inactivity is as bad for your health as smoking.
Unfortunately, obesity is a common yet serious chronic health disease. It is characterized as a condition in which a person has a harmful amount of body fat. It can cause changes to your metabolism and hormones and increase inflammation in the body. The Body Mass Index Chart characterizes anyone with a BMI greater than 25 as being overweight. Anyone with a BMI greater than 30 as being obese. As BMI increases, so does blood pressure, bad cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar and inflammation. It can also cause a deterioration of bone density and muscle mass, leaving you predisposed to the following conditions:
Heart Attack: Excess weight can lead to a build-up of fatty material in your arteries. If the arteries that carry blood to your heart get damaged, this could potentially cause a heart attack. – British Heart Foundation
Type 2 Diabetes: Diabetes is a condition of having too much sugar in your bloodstream which can be brought on by obesity. Complications surrounding Type 2 Diabetes are heart attack, nerve damage (neuropathy) kidney disease, eye damage, slow healing (prone to infection), and hearing impairment. According to the American Diabetes Association, 18.2 million people, or 6.3% of the population had diabetes in 2002.
High Blood Pressure- Extra fat increases vascular resistance and the work your heart has to do to pump blood, putting a strain on your heart and resulting in high blood pressure.
-withings.com
High Cholesterol- Being overweight or obese can affect the way your body manages lipoproteins, including cholesterol and triglycerides. – webmd.com
Over time, high cholesterol can cause fatty deposits to build up in the blood stream, causing a narrowing of the arteries which can leave you vulnerable to both heart attack and stroke.
Osteoarthritis- Being overweight increases the load placed on your joints, which can lead to a break down in cartilage
– arthritis.org
Some Cancers- Overweight or obesity can cause changes in the body that help lead to cancer. These changes can include long lasting inflammation and higher-than-normal levels of insulin.
-cole.gov
An International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that there’s constant evidence that higher amounts of body fat are associated with an increased risk for a number of different cancers.
-cancer.gov
Food has the potential to contribute to our wellness or make us sick. The same can be said about exercise, or a lack thereof. As a young person, you might feel that none of this applies to you, but the fact of the matter is, the decisions you make today, will greatly affect your health and longevity in the future. Hospitals and Health Care Facilities are now seeing adults in their 40’s suffering from preventable diseases such as Heart Attack and Stroke resulting from poor lifestyle choices. We need to take inspired action towards reclaiming our lives. There is power and joy in living a healthy life. It is, in an essence, how we show our body love and compassion, by giving it the proper things it requires to function well and so that we can live up to our full potential.
If poor nutrition and sedentary lives can have such profound implications on our health, let’s take a look at what happens when the reverse is true:
20 Minutes of Exercise
Increases energy by increasing blood flow and oxygen going to the brain
Kickstarts metabolism
Improves mood and mindset
Reduces levels of stress hormones and has the potential to release chemicals in our brain that cause us to feel good such as serotonin and dopamine
30 Minutes of Exercise
Improves circulation and muscle strength
Improves heart health
Weight Loss
Reduce Stress
Increases energy by delivering more oxygen and nutrients throughout the body
Improves cardiovascular health and helps it work more efficiently
Improves memory
Improves self confidence
Stronger immune system
Improves mood and mindset
One Hour of Exercise
Improves circulation, muscle strength and endurance
Weight Loss
Reduces Stress
Helps maintain normal blood sugar levels
Improves blood pressure
Reduces the risk of developing several chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes
Improves attention and memory
Improve mood and mindset
Improves self-confidence
Stronger immune system
Improved skin health
Helps you sleep better
Now, at the risk of being accused of “fat shaming”, I’m not saying it’s not ok to be overweight and still love your body. The reality is, you can be anything and be overweight. You can be highly successful, you can be smart and funny and intelligent. You can be overweight and be an amazing spouse and friend. Nobody is arguing that no two bodies were made the same and that we were all created uniquely beautiful and individual. However, you cannot ignore the implications that being overweight or obese will have on your health and longevity. In fact, it’s ok to love yourself as the perfectly flawed individual that you are while taking action to be a healthier version of yourself. Yes, all bodies are in fact beautiful, but not all bodies are healthy. The World Health Organization reported that obesity rates tripled from 1975-2016 and that rates are currently rapidly increasing among children, setting a precedent for what is to come in the future.
