Obesity may be a disease
Obesity may be a disease
Obesity is not just a change in body shape, but also a systemic disease state. It means that various organs of the body, especially the cardiovascular system, are in a state of overload for a long time. In some individuals, the weight even exceeds the normal range by 50% or more. Each additional weight is composed of active cells, which also need oxygen and nutrients, and also produce metabolic waste, which needs to be continuously processed by organs such as the heart and kidneys.
Therefore, the higher the body weight, the greater the metabolic and transport pressure on the organs. This continuous high-load operation will eventually accelerate the aging of key organs such as the heart and kidneys, leading to functional degradation and even premature failure.
Water retention: from "pseudo-obesity" to disease
Excessive obesity is often accompanied by abnormal water retention in the body. When the kidneys' drainage and metabolic capacity weakens, water cannot be effectively discharged, which can easily lead to "pseudo-obesity" and chronic edema. The increase in water in the blood will dilute the plasma, increase the heart's pumping burden, and ultimately affect blood pressure stability.
What's more serious is that this water retention will start a typical pathological vicious cycle:
Water and sodium retention → increased blood pressure → glomerular damage → decreased renal drainage capacity → more water and sodium retention
When there is too much water in the blood vessels, the diastolic blood pressure rises, the heart's pumping power increases, and the systolic blood pressure also rises synchronously. This "double hypertension" state will further damage the vascular endothelium and renal tubular function, and gradually put the entire circulatory system on the verge of passivity and collapse.
Hidden pushers of psychological and social factors
The causes of obesity are not only in the body, but also in people's psychological and social environment. Modern society is fast-paced and competitive. Long-term mental stress, anxiety and emotional fatigue can cause endocrine disorders, especially imbalances in the regulation of key hormones such as cortisol and insulin.
In this state, people are more likely to have emotional eating behaviors: overeating, dependence on sweets, and "compensatory desire" for high-fat and high-sugar foods.
A midnight snack may be to relieve the anxiety of overtime work; a bag of potato chips may be a sense of powerlessness in dealing with life. But behind these behaviors are true portrayals of the physical and mental systems being disturbed by stress.
The problem is that most people are not aware of the deep connection between these "metabolic abnormalities" and psychological states. On the contrary, there is still contempt and misunderstanding of obesity in society, and many people think that "it's just a little fat, not serious."
Obesity is a catalyst for chronic diseases
In fact, obesity is an important cause of many chronic diseases, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, etc. Once these diseases occur, they are often difficult to reverse and require long-term medication and continuous monitoring, which seriously affects the quality of life.
The scary thing about obesity is that it develops very secretly - there are no acute symptoms, but it quietly erodes the body's metabolic system day after day.
The greater difficulty is that most people have not yet fully realized the seriousness of obesity in their minds, and lack the motivation to actively intervene.
If we don't really take obesity seriously in our minds, it will be difficult to solve the problem fundamentally.
Stubborn hypertension: organ damage hidden behind obesity
Some people have long-term hypertension that cannot be cured. The root cause is not the ineffectiveness of drugs, but organ dysfunction caused by obesity, especially the decline in the kidney's ability to metabolize water. When the kidneys cannot effectively excrete excess water, blood volume increases and blood pressure naturally rises, which manifests as high diastolic and systolic blood pressure at the same time.
This state is called organic hypertension, and drugs can only "press the numbers" but cannot really eliminate the cause.
To alleviate hypertension from the root, it is necessary to improve simultaneously:
? Weight management
? Kidney function support
? Reduced cardiac burden
? Lifestyle adjustment
? Emotional stress relief
Similarly, if you do not fundamentally adjust your pace of life and relieve psychological stress, even if you take medicine, it will be difficult to end the pathological cycle of "stress-endocrine disorder-hypertension".
(The author of this article is not a medical professional. The above is only personal opinion and should not be used as a medical basis for anyone).
Peter Lee in Toronto