OBESITY HAS HEALTH RISKS
If we devote this site to the BMI (Body Mass Index), it is because the BMI is above all a risk indicator.
Being overweight or obese has consequences on health, and this leads in particular to more cardiovascular problems. Complications are sometimes fatal.
In France, nearly 9 million people have a BMI over 40; these people are therefore considered obese. For twenty years, the number of obese has increased by about 50% every 10 years in France, this figure is enormous. This is why overweight and obesity are considered by doctors to be the first non-infectious epidemic in the world.
Among the most common risks that are mentioned when talking about obesity are the following.
High blood pressure
According to some sources, by gaining 5% weight, we would increase our risk of hypertension by 30%, and therefore the cardiovascular risks. Nearly 30% of obese people are also hypertensive. Hypertension in its most severe form is a disease of the global arteries. It is also interesting to note that, since mid-2011, for social security, severe arterial hypertension is no longer subject to the same reimbursements as before: it is no longer reimbursed at 100%. And that for the sake of… economy! Especially since the number of severe cases is on the rise, as is obesity; which may have motivated this decree..
For information, tension is simply the pressure exerted by the blood on the walls (of the arteries): if the pressure is too high, then there is hypertension. In 2010, about 4 million French people were followed for severe high blood pressure problems.
Diabetes
There are 3 million diabetics in France. This is a disease that has several forms. Type 2 diabetes is more present in overweight people, even going so far as to have 7 times more cases in the obese environment than in the environment of people with normal build. Obesity is one of the first consequences of the increase in the number of diabetics in France.
Heart disease
Too much fat in the arteries causes cholesterol and cardiovascular complications: heart attack and stroke (cerebrovascular accident). The risk of stroke in an obese is almost multiplied by 3 according to certain medical sources.
Other diseases
Other risks are present for obese people: bowel cancer, breast cancer, respiratory failure, etc.
THE CAUSES OF OBESITY
Excess weight is the consequence of different factors, and not always diet.
There are 4 main factors. The genetic factor is the first cause: some genes have an important influence on corpulence and the distribution of mass within the body. The second factor is hormonal. Then there are medical factors.
Finally, and this is undoubtedly the main factor: the environment. This is mainly an unbalanced diet, as well as a lack of physical activity. These two factors are also often linked: a person who eats too much and who does not eat a balanced diet is often obese because he does not have a physical activity corresponding to his diet.
Warning: it is wrong to believe that obesity is only due to an unhealthy diet and a lack of physical activity
This does affect some individuals, but many of them are also obese for a multitude of different reasons.
The increase in the rate of obesity in Western countries is mainly explained by junk food and sedentarization, but it would be very serious to limit the causes of obesity to these environmental data alone: each individual has a metabolism and distinct reactions; While it is easy to highlight dietary problems in the face of obesity, many people are currently overweight or obese even though they do not fit into this framework.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BMI AND DISEASES
There is a correlation between BMI and the risk of diseases related to obesity. This is also why this index is useful: it is a statistical indicator that makes it possible to link an individual’s corpulence to statistics on the risk of these diseases. The BMI is therefore not primarily intended to indicate an “ideal weight” for example.