7 Obesity Related Diseases We Need To Say Goodbye To This International Women’s Day!

While most of us women conveniently choose to perceive the International Women’s Day as a celebration of the identity, self-esteem, freedom and whatnot, the fact remains that if we women are not beautiful inside out, the day ends up losing its true meaning. 

And when we say, beautiful inside out, the first and foremost facet we need to talk about is health, which is rampantly becoming a prey in the hands of overweight and obesity.

Table of Contents:

• High Blood Pressure
• Diabetes
• High Cholesterol and Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Infertility
• Back Pain
• Depression

According to the pan India survey conducted by AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) and Dr Anoop Misra (Chairman – National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation), 2 in every 3 urban women is found to be obese while every eighth woman in rural India is suffering from obesity.

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Ironically, a nation which was and is still known for its prevailing starvation, today is stuck in the spirality of obesity! 

Also, the fact that Indian women do not pay attention to health and fitness placing their family obligations on top of everything else (including their own health), makes for a perfect recipe for the onset of obesity and overweight.

Ladies, pledge to keep your health as your topmost priority and make a healthy world for you and your loved ones.

Get in touch with our Possible Nutritionist today for any kind of assistance on health, nutrition and weight-related concerns and we shall be glad to help. The first consultation is on us.

So on this International Women’s Day, let us open our eyes to the hazardous effects of obesity and the diseases caused by being overweight, 7 of which we are going to discuss now:

1. High Blood Pressure

Obesity is one of the major causes of high blood pressure, which is amongst the top causes of death besides obstructive pulmonary disease, diarrhoea and tuberculosis [1] [2].

High blood pressure or hypertension is directly linked to your heart and brain – the two most vital organs of your body.

High blood pressure also gives rise to heart diseases and it has been found that obese people have increased blood volume and arterial resistance.

High blood pressure also exposes you to the risk of a stroke or a heart attack, which can kill you (if you are fortunate enough) or may even leave you paralyzed and disabled for the rest of your life.   

2. Diabetes

Type-2 diabetes is another deadly disease caused by obesity [3]. Obesity paves way for insulin resistance, which causes diabetes.

There is an array of after-effects of diabetes including vision impairment, kidney problems, gangrene, etc.

3. High Cholesterol and Heart Disease

According to the American Heart Association, another health hazard posed by obesity is heart disease which can many a times lead to a heart attack and stroke.

In fact, according to studies, obese people carry a risk of heart attack even before they reach the age of 45 [4].

Studies indicate that people who carry excess weight have a higher risk of having a heart attack before the age of 35 [5].

Consumption of saturated oil found in most junk foods seems to be the leading cause of obesity.  

4. Cancer

There are several studies that clearly link obesity to certain types of cancers like Endometrial Cancer, Esophageal Adenocarcinoma, Gastric cardia cancer, Liver cancer, Kidney cancer, Multiple myelomas, Meningioma, Pancreatic cancer, Colorectal cancer, Gallbladder cancer, Breast cancer, Ovarian cancer and Thyroid cancer [6].

Studies also suggest that obese people suffer from chronic low-level inflammation which over time turns into cancer.

It has also been found that as obesity increases, the chances of occurrence of these cancers also increases simultaneously.

5. Infertility

Obesity causes abnormal hormonal levels which leads to ovarian failure and thus fertility [7].

Obesity also causes PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), which is a common cause of fertility.

Studies also suggest that women who are overweight or obese have less chance of getting pregnant overall.

Also, the risk of pre-eclampsia doubles in overweight women and triples in obese women.

Overweight women have twice the risk of gestational diabetes as compared to women of healthy weight.  

An obese woman is twice more likely to have a miscarriage as a woman with healthy weight.

Babies born to obese women are likely to be large in size and sometimes need neonatal intensive care or have a congenital abnormality [8].

6. Back Pain

Obesity can expose you to various aches and pains including that of the neck, shoulder, back, spine, legs, ankle, etc, the reason being that these body parts carry your body weight.

People who are overweight are at a much greater risk to suffer from back and spine pain.

The excess weight carried by an obese person puts additional strain and pressure on the spine, which results in injury to the spine and back.

Obesity also raises the risk of developing osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and arthritis [9].

7. Depression

Obesity causes hormonal imbalances which lead to depression among women and even men. Obesity also causes low self-esteem which in the long run, turns into clinical depression [10] [11].

It has also been found that obese people are more likely to experience mood disorders than people who have a healthy weight.

Not being able to fit into good-looking clothes is one of the major setbacks experienced by obese women that sets them on a path of self-destruction, only a handful being able to emerge winners post the setback [12].

A Quick Peek into the events that transpired into International Women’s Day Today

• 1909 – The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February.
• The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions.
• 1910 – The Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women’s Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women’s rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women.
• The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, which included the first three women elected to the Finnish Parliament. No fixed date was selected for the observance.
• 1911 – As a result of the Copenhagen initiative, International Women’s Day was marked for the first time (19 March) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million women and men attended rallies.
• In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded women’s rights to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job.
• 1913-1914 – International Women’s Day also became a mechanism for protesting World War I. As part of the peace movement, Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on the last Sunday in February.
• Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with other activists.
• 1917 – Against the backdrop of the war, women in Russia again chose to protest and strike for “Bread and Peace” on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar).
• Four days later, the Czar abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.
• 1975 – During International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March.
• 1995 – The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments, focused on 12 critical areas of concern, and envisioned a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting an education, having an income, and living in societies free from violence and discrimination.
• 2014 – The 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58) – the annual gathering of States to address critical issues related to gender equality and women’s rights — focused on “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls”.
• UN entities and accredited NGOs from around the world took stock of progress and remaining challenges towards meeting the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
• The MDGs have played an important role in galvanizing attention on and resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

So these were some hard facts about obesity and its health hazards. Join hands with health and fitness this International Women’s Day and see how it changes your life and your world.

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Here is wishing you all a very happy International Women’s Day.