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Everybody knows that obesity is unsightly and unhealthy. What
you may not know is just how dangerous it is. The American
Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) is a professional medical
society composed of physicians with a special interest in
the medical management and treatment of obesity. Here is a
recent statement that this organization just released:
“Is obesity a disease? For several years, the American
Society of Bariatric Physicians has been trying to convince
insurance companies and organized medicine to recognize obesity
as a disease entity. As reported by UPI, and picked up by
all of the national media, a panel of experts from the National
Institutes of Health officially called obesity a ‘killer
disease.’ According to ASBP’s President, ‘We
are pleased with this declaration by a national organization
of the dangers of obesity as a disease. We endorse the findings
of the National Institutes of Health and we think this action
will be a significant step forward for the 34 million adult
Americans who suffer from obesity and need medical attention
for their problem.’
“The ASBP’s official position on obesity as a
disease entity is closely related to the National Institutes
of Health findings. ASBP’s expert clinicians concur
with the findings of the panel of experts from the National
Institutes of Health, and reaffirm that a person is considered
obese when 20% above normal weight set by life insurance tables
for adults. At 20% above the ideal weight, ASBP maintains
a definite health hazard does exist. ASBP’s position
remains that since obesity can now be treated effectively
by medical and, if necessary, surgical methods, the recognition
of obesity as a disease is long past due. ASBP believes that
obesity is an independent risk factor and major health problem
in cardiovascular disease, hypertension, adult diabetes, cancer,
anesthesia, and major abdominal and thoracic surgery”
Obese people run a risk of diabetes and high blood pressure
that’s three times as high as the risk for the non-obese.
You already know about the increased risk of heart disease.
But did you know that the obese also run a higher risk of
strokes and arthritis? “At the 20% overweight level,”
says Dr. Jules Hirsch of New York’s Rockefeller University,
“you start putting enough weight on certain joints (the
knees and lower back, for example) to make them go to pieces
long before they ordinarily would.”
Severely obese (more than 40% overweight) women have a risk
of developing cancer of the uterine lining that’s five
times normal. They also have higher risks of cancer of the
cervix and breast. Overweight men have higher rates of cancer
of the rectum, prostate and colon.
And what if you’re only, say, 18 or 19% overweight?
Don’t feel too comfortable with the extra flab. That
20% figure cited by the ASBP is the general figure that everyone
agrees constitutes obesity. Actually, any excess fat is a
bad idea. The doctor who chaired this year’s National
Institutes of Health panel on obesity, warns that even five
pounds of excess fat can be dangerous to people who are genetically
at risk for hypertension and adult-onset diabetes.
Just how obesity works to promote diabetes is something of
a mystery. The human pancreas produces insulin, but the cells
of obese people seem to be insulin-resistant. Dr. Charles
Kleaman of UCLA says, “The receptors on the cells that
usually grab the insulin just don’t seem to operate
any more. The body is producing enough insulin, but it isn’t
being employed by the cells.”
The latest research also indicates that where you carry your
fat has some bearing on your health. People whose fat is deposited
around the waist (the classic “spare tire”) are
more often victims of strokes, heart disease and diabetes
than those who carry their weight on the hips and thighs.
We don’t know why this should be so, but it’s
something that men should watch out for, since the waist is
the classic male storage area for fat. Women, on the other
hand, are more often bottom-heavy. “A lot of guys,”
says Dr. Hirch, “are going around with a beer belly
and thinking it’s okay, sort of macho. They could be
in more trouble than people with fat hips and thighs.”
His NIH panel urged that we investigate a new measure of obesity:
the waist-to-hip ratio. If your waist is as big around as
your hips, or bigger, you could be in for a lot of trouble.
Because the ASBP believes that obesity is a disease (in fact,
a “killer disease”) we think that all group medical
insurance plans should include obesity coverage. Unfortunately
many don’t.
Meanwhile, if you’re obese, you’re walking around
with a potential killer in your body. If you’re just
somewhat overweight, don’t wait until the scale shows
that you’re 20% over where you should be. Chances are
that if you look and feel too heavy, you are too heavy, and
you may thus be predisposing yourself to any of a number of
life-threatening diseases. There’s no time like now
to do something about this problem.
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