Obesity leads to other medical conditions and diseases, contributing to a decreased quality of life. People with obesity have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular conditions such as:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Coronary disease or angina pectoris
- Myocardial infarction
- Stroke
- Heart failure
People with obesity are also highly prone to:
- Type 2 diabetes; hirsutism, hyperlipidemia
- Some cancers (including endometrial, breast, ovarian, prostate, liver, gallbladder, kidney, pancreas and colon)
- Obstructive sleep apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, asthma/reactive airway disease (you can read about obstructive sleep apnea in: Library – My condition – Definition
- Atherosclerosis
- Gallbladder disease, GERD (recurrent heartburn), recurrent ventral hernias, fatty liver disease
- Frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs), stress, urinary incontinence, menstrual irregularity, or infertility
- Degeneration of knees and hips, disc herniation, chronic non-surgical low back pain
- Multiple disorders related to diabetes and yeast infections between skin folds
In addition to physical complications, obesity may be a source of psychological problems such as poor self-esteem and depression.