Health Risks Associated with Excess Body Fat

The most dangerous type of weight is abdominal obesity. People who carry weight more evenly distributed over their entire bodies are less at risk for disease than those who follow the more classic fat distribution patterns. For a variety of reasons, including hormones and metabolic processes that affect fat storage in particular areas of the body, when men and women first begin to gain weight, they do not store it in the same place. A typical overweight man looks like an apple. He carries his weight above the waist, resulting in the classic bulging abdomen, also known as the beer belly. A typical overweight woman carries her fat below the waist in the hips and the buttocks, resulting in a pear-shaped silhouette.

Obesity can also impair psychological health, where being perceived as fat can be the source of discrimination from others; it can contribute to psychological problems such as depression and low self-esteem. For some, the shame associated with obesity can give rise to a negative body image, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders.

Posted in: Weight Loss