Obesity

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Obesity

Obesity is more serious than being a few kilograms or pounds overweight, if you're carrying a lot of fat on your body. Most of the extra fat will lie either around your waist and chest or on your hips and buttocks. Men who are obese tend to have big waists. Women tend to carry extra weight on their hips and lower body.

Obesity can affect you in that having a heavy body can be uncomfortable. And it can also cause other health problems.

You can be short of breath if your heavy moving around can be difficult. So you may get out of breath. If you have a lot of fat around your neck and chest, you may need to take short, shallow breaths. The extra fat makes it difficult for air to flow in and out of your lungs.

You may feel tired if you find it hard to breathe, you may not be getting enough oxygen into your blood. Carrying extra weight can be tiring too and everyday activities become a struggle. It may take a lot of effort to walk short distances.

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Sore joint and muscles may be a problem as you put on weight, your ankles and knees need to work harder. The joints and the muscles in your legs and lower back may become sore and stiff.

If you have folds of fat, the skin under the folds can stay moist from perspiration. This makes it more likely that you'll get a skin infection. The skin under large breasts and buttocks can also rub and become sore.

Varicose veins are swollen, twisted blood vessels. They often look lumpy and blue and they may make your legs ache. They're partly caused by the strain of carrying extra weight.

Women may find that their periods become irregular and may stop altogether. This is because the extra fat can upset the balance of hormones in your body.

You may feel you can't control how much you eat and can't stop eating when you feel full. You may have cravings for different sweet or fatty foods. Some people go on a diet and then eat large amounts of food. Binge eaters are not uncommon they may not be aware they have a eating disorder. If the way you think your eating habits is causing you problems, you may have an eating disorder. Contact your doctor.

Being obese can also affect the quality of your life and the way you feel.

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