science

Obesity-associated morbidity

Obesity-associated morbidity is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Obesity-associated morbidity rather than just read about it. In short: Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic physical and mental illnesses. Health risks for those who are overweight may be decreasing because of improvements in medical care.

Key takeaways

Obesity-associated morbidity belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Obesity-associated morbidity to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Obesity-associated morbidity from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic physical and mental illnesses. Health risks for those who are overweight may be decreasing because of improvements in medical care. Some obesity-associated medical conditions may be the result of stress caused by medical discrimination against people who are obese, rather than the direct effects of obesity, and some may be exacerbated by the relatively poor healthcare received by people who are obese.

Medical discrimination

Because of the social stigma of obesity, people who are obese may receive poorer healthcare than people within the normal BMI weight range, potentially contributing to the relationship between obesity and poor health outcomes. People who experience weight-related discrimination, irrespective of their actual weight status, similarly have poorer health outcomes than those who do not experience weight-related discrimination. People who are obese are also less likely to seek medical care than people who are not obese, even if the weight gain is caused by medical problems. Peter Muennig, a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, has proposed that obesity-associated medical conditions may be caused "not from adiposity alone, but also from the psychological stress induced by the social stigma associated with being obese".

Cardiological risks

Body weight is not considered to be an independently predictive risk factor for cardiovascular disease by current (as of 2014) risk assessment tools. Mortality from cardiovascular disease has decreased despite increases in obesity, and at least one clinical trial was stopped early because the weight loss intervention being tested did not reduce cardiovascular disease.

Ischemic heart disease Abdominal obesity is associated with cardiovascular diseases including angina and myocardial infarction. However, overall obesity (as measured by BMI) may lead to false diagnoses of myocardial infarction and may decrease mortality after acute myocardial infarction. In 2008, European guidelines concluded that 35% of ischemic heart disease among adults in Europe is due to obesity.

Congestive heart failure Having obesity is associated to about 11% of heart failure cases in males and 14% in females.

High blood pressure More than 85% of those with hypertension have a BMI greater than 25, although diet is probably a more important factor than body weight. Risk estimates indicate that at least two-thirds of people with hypertension can be directly attributed to obesity. The association between obesity and hypertension has been found in animal and clinical studies, which have suggested that there are multiple potential mechanisms for obesity-induced hypertension. These mechanisms include the activation of the sympathetic nervous system as well as the activation of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. As of 2007, it was unclear whether there is an association between hypertension and obesity in children, but there is little direct evidence that blood pressure has increased despite increases in pediatric overweight.

Abnormal cholesterol levels Obesity is associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol and lower levels of HDL cholesterol in the blood.

Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism Obesity increases one's risk of venous thromboembolism by approximately 2.3 fold.

Dermatological risks

Obesity is associated with the incidence of stretch marks, acanthosis nigricans, lymphedema, cellulitis, hirsutism, and intertrigo.

Endocrine risks

Diabetes mellitus

The link between obesity and type 2 diabetes is so strong that researchers in the 1970s started calling it "diabesity". Excess weight is behind 64% of cases of diabetes in males and 77% of cases in females.

Gynecomastia In some individuals, obesity can be associated with elevated peripheral conversion of androgens into estrogens.

Gastrointestinal risks

Gastroesophageal reflux disease Several studies have shown that the frequency and severity of GERD symptoms increase with BMI, such that people who are underweight have the fewest GERD symptoms, and people who are severely obese have the most GERD symptoms. However, most studies find that GERD symptoms are not improved by nonsurgical weight loss.

Cholelithiasis (gallstones) Obesity causes the amount of cholesterol in bile to rise, in turn the formation of stone can occur

Reproductive system (or genital system)

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) Due to its association with insulin resistance, the risk of obesity increases with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). In the US approximately 60% of patients with PCOS have a BMI greater than 30. It remains uncertain whether PCOS contributes to obesity, or the reverse.

Infertility Obesity can lead to infertility in both males and females. This is primarily due to excess estrogen interfering with normal ovulation in females and altering spermatogenesis in males. It is believed to cause 6% of primary infertility. A review in 2013 came to the result that obesity increases the risk of oligospermia and azoospermia in males, with an of odds ratio 1.3. Being morbidly obese increases the odds ratio to 2.0.

Complications of pregnancy Obesity is related to many complications in pregnancy including: haemorrhage, infection, increased hospital stays for the mother, and increased NICU requirements for the infant. Obese females also have increased risk of preterm births and low birth weight infants. Obese females have more than twice the rate of C-sections compared to females of "normal" weight. Some have suggested that this may be due in part to the social stigma of obesity.

Birth defects Those who are obese during pregnancy have a greater risk of having a child with a number of congenital malformations including: neural tube defects such as anencephaly and spina bifida, cardiovascular anomalies, including septal anomalies, cleft lip and palate, anorectal malformation, limb reduction anomalies, and hydrocephaly.

Intrauterine fetal death Maternal obesity is associated with an increased risk of intrauterine fetal death.

Buried penis

Excess body fat in morbid obesity can, in some cases, completely obscure or "bury" the penis.

Neurological risks

Stroke Ischemic stroke is increased in both men and women who are obese, however the increase in risk is due to other metabolic health issues such as hypertension, increased blood pressure, decreased high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides or glucose, or diabetes.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Obesity-associated morbidity

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Obesity-associated morbidity claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Obesity-associated morbidity before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Obesity-associated morbidity ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Obesity-associated morbidity

In research: Obesity-associated morbidity appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Obesity-associated morbidity in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Obesity-associated morbidity is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Medical conditions related to obesity, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Obesity-associated morbidity outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Obesity-associated morbidity in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Obesity-associated morbidity means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Obesity-associated morbidity out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Obesity-associated morbidity in simple terms?

Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic physical and mental illnesses. Health risks for those who are overweight may be decreasing because of improvements in medical care.

Why does Obesity-associated morbidity matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Obesity-associated morbidity?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Obesity-associated morbidity.