What will happen if obesity continues

Read more: health risks and why being overweight does not decrease mortality. It is a broad swath of harms that has a huge societal effect—on the economy, national productivity, and even national defense.

The health care costs of obesity in the U. This includes money spent directly on medical care and prescription drugs related to obesity. But obesity has other costs associated with it, too, among them, the cost of lost days of work, higher employer insurance premiums, and lower wages and incomes linked to obesity-related illnesses.

Countries with lower obesity rates than the U. Perhaps one of the most surprising consequences of the current obesity epidemic in the U. Read more: economic costs. And this realization should be a call to action, because there is good news amidst the bad: Obesity is preventable. Treatments include lifestyle changes, such as heart-healthy eating and increased physical activity, and Food and Drug Administration FDA -approved weight-loss medicines.

For some people, surgery may be a treatment option. Explore this Health Topic to learn more about overweight and obesity, our role in research and clinical trials to improve health, and where to find more information. See also. Causes - Overweight and Obesity. Energy imbalances cause the body to store fat. Your body uses certain nutrients such as carbohydrates or sugars, proteins, and fats from the foods you eat to: make energy for immediate use to power routine daily body functions and physical activity.

Sugars are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Fats are stored mainly as triglyceride in fat tissue. Read more. White fat tissue can be found around the kidneys and under the skin in the buttocks, thighs, and abdomen.

This fat type stores energy, makes hormone that control the way the body regulates urges to eat or stop eating, and makes inflammatory substances that can lead to complications. Brown fat tissue is located in the upper back area of human infants. This fat type releases stored energy as heat energy when a baby is cold. It also can make inflammatory substances. Brown fat can be seen in children and adults.

Beige fat tissue is seen in the neck, shoulders, back, chest and abdomen of adults and resembles brown fat tissue. This fat type, which uses carbohydrates and fats to produce heat, increases when children and adults are exposed to cold.

Read less. Medical conditions. Some genetic syndromes and endocrine disorders can cause overweight or obesity. Genetic syndromes Several genetic syndromes are associated with overweight and obesity, including the following. Endocrine disorders Because the endocrine system produces hormones that help maintain energy balances in the body, the following endocrine disorders or tumor affecting the endocrine system can cause overweight and obesity.

People with this condition have low levels of thyroid hormones. These low levels are associated with decreased metabolism and weight gain, even when food intake is reduced.

People with hypothyroidism also produce less body heat, have a lower body temperature, and do not efficiently use stored fat for energy. People with this condition have high levels of glucocorticoids , such as cortisol , in the blood. High cortisol levels make the body feel like it is under chronic stress. As a result, people have an increase in appetite and the body will store more fat. Some tumors, such as craneopharingioma, can cause severe obesity because the tumors develop near parts of the brain that control hunger.

Look for. Research for Your Health will explain how we are using current research and advancing research to understand, prevent and treat overweight and obesity. Risk Factors will discuss family history, lifestyle, or other environmental factors that increase your risk of developing overweight and obesity. Risk Factors - Overweight and Obesity. Unhealthy lifestyle habits.

Lack of physical activity Lack of physical activity due to high amounts of TV, computer, videogame or other screen usage has been associated with a high body mass index. Unhealthy eating behaviors Some unhealthy eating behaviors can increase your risk for overweight and obesity. Eating more calories than you use. The amount of calories you need will vary based on your sex, age, and physical activity level.

Find out your daily calorie needs or goals with the Body Weight Planner. Eating too much saturated and trans fats Eating foods high in added sugars Visit Heart-healthy eating for more information about healthy eating patterns.

Not enough sleep Many studies have seen a high BMI in people who do not get enough sleep. High amounts of stress Acute stress and chronic stress affect the brain and trigger the production of hormones, such as cortisol, that control our energy balances and hunger urges. Unhealthy environments. Many environmental factors can increase your risk for overweight and obesity: social factors such as having a low socioeconomic status or an unhealthy social or unsafe environment in the neighborhood built environment factors such as easy access to unhealthy fast foods, limited access to recreational facilities or parks, and few safe or easy ways to walk in your neighborhood exposure to chemicals known as obesogens that can change hormones and increase fatty tissue in our bodies.

Family history and genetics. Race or ethnicity. Screening and Prevention - Overweight and Obesity. Screening for a high or increasing body mass index BMI. Adults : A healthy weight for adults is usually when your BMI is Healthy lifestyle changes to prevent overweight and obesity. Diagnosis will explain tests and procedures that your doctor may use to diagnose overweight and obesity. Living With will discuss what your doctor may recommend to monitor and prevent your condition from getting worse and to screen you for complications.

Research for Your Health will explain how we are using current research and advancing research to prevent overweight and obesity. Signs, Symptoms, and Complications - Overweight and Obesity. High body mass index BMI. A high BMI is the most common sign of overweight and obesity. Unhealthy body fat distribution. Did you know that fatty tissue has different functions depending on its location in your body?

Obesity may cause the following complications: Metabolic Syndrome Type 2 diabetes High blood cholesterol and high triglyceride levels in the blood Diseases of the heart and blood vessels such as high blood pressure , atherosclerosis , heart attacks and stroke Respiratory problems such as obstructive sleep apnea , asthma, and obesity hypoventilation syndrome Back pain Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease NAFLD Osteoarthritis, a chronic inflammation that damages the cartilage and bone in or around the affected joint.

It can cause mild or severe pain and usually affects weight-bearing joints in people who are obese. It is a major cause of knee replacement surgery in patients who are obese for a long time. Urinary incontinence , the unintentional leakage of urine. Chronic obesity can weaken pelvic muscles, making it harder to maintain bladder control. While it can happen to both sexes, it usually affects women as they age. Gallbladder disease Emotional health issues such as low self-esteem or depression.

This may commonly occur in children. Cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, colon, rectum, kidney, endometrium, ovaries, gallbladder, breast, or liver. Diagnosis will explain tests and procedures used to detect signs of overweight and obesity and help rule our other conditions that may be causing weight gain.

Treatment will discuss treatment-related complications or side effects. Living With will explain how doctors use waist circumference to monitor for disease severity and check for complications. Diagnosis - Overweight and Obesity. Confirming a high body mass index BMI. Even if your BMI is in the healthy range, it is possible to be diagnosed as obese if you have a large waist circumference that suggests increased amounts of fat in your abdomen that can lead to complications.

Medical history. Physical exam. Tests to identify other medical conditions. Blood tests. B lood tests that check your thyroid hormone levels can help rule out h ypothyroidism as a cause of your overweight or obesity. Pelvic ultrasound to examine the ovari es and detect cysts. This can rule out PCOS. Return to Risk Factors to review family history, lifestyle, or other environmental factors that increase your risk of developing overweight and obesity.

Return to Signs, Symptoms, and Complications to review common signs and symptoms of overweight and obesity. Treatment - Overweight and Obesity. Healthy lifestyle changes.

Heart-healthy eating. Learn about which foods and nutrients are part of a healthy eating pattern. If you need to lose weight, try to reduce your total daily calories gradually. Use the Body Weight Planner to find out your daily calorie needs and to set goals. Visit healthy recipes and plan for success. Talk with your doctor before beginning any diet or eating plan. Physical activity. Many health benefits are associated with physical activity and getting the recommended amount of physical activity needed each week.

Physical activity is an important factor in determining whether a person can maintain a healthy body weight, lose excess body weight, or maintain successful weight loss. Before starting any exercise program, ask your doctor about what level of physical activity is right for you. Healthy Sleep. Studies have shown some relationship between lack of sleep and obesity. Read Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency more information. Behavioral weight-loss programs.

Several medicines change the way the brain regulates the urge to eat, which can help to decrease appetite. Gastrointestinal tract. Orlistat is the only available medicine. It blocks your intestines from absorbing fat from foods in your diet.

Surgical procedures. Gastric bypass surgery. A small part of the stomach is connected to the middle part of the intestine, bypassing the first part of intestine. This decreases the amount of food that you can eat and the amount of fat your body can take in and store. A big portion of the stomach is removed to decrease the amount of food that you can eat. Gastric banding. A hollow band is placed around the upper part of the stomach creating a smaller stomach. This decreases the amount of food you can eat.

Interested in learning why these surgeries lead to weight loss in some patients? Living With will explain recommendations that your doctor may give, including lifelong healthy lifestyle changes and medical care to prevent your condition from recurring, getting worse, or causing complications. Research for Your Health will explain how we are using current research and advancing research to treat people with overweight and obesity.

Participate in NHLBI Clinical Trials will discuss our ongoing clinical studies that are investigating treatments for overweight and obesity. Living With - Overweight and Obesity. Tips to aim for a healthy weight. You, your doctor, or health care provider can use this diary to monitor your progress. Set specific goals.

Be realistic about your time and abilities. Consecutive goals that can move you ahead in small steps, are the best way to reach a distant point. When starting a new lifestyle, try to avoid changing too much at once. Slow changes lead to success. Remember, quick weight loss methods do not provide lasting results. Learn from your slips. Everyone slips, especially when learning something new.

Remember that changing your lifestyle is a long-term process. Find out what triggered the slip and restart your eating and physical activity plan. Celebrate your success. Reward yourself along the way as you meet your goals. Nevertheless, how people respond to an environment that promotes physical inactivity and intake of high-calorie foods suggests that genes do play a role in developing obesity.

Genes give the body instructions for responding to changes in its environment. Variants in several genes may contribute to obesity by increasing hunger and food intake. Rarely, a clear pattern of inherited obesity within a family is caused by a specific variant of a single gene monogenic obesity. Most obesity, however, probably results from complex interactions among multiple genes and environmental factors that remain poorly understood multifactorial obesity.

Health care practitioners routinely collect family health history to help identify people at high risk of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and some forms of cancer. Family health history reflects the effects of shared genetics and environment among close relatives.

Families cannot change their genes, but they can encourage healthy eating habits and physical activity. Those changes can improve the health of family members—and improve the health history of the next generation. Learn more about obesity and genomics. Some illnesses may lead to obesity or weight gain. Drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause weight gain. Research continues on the role of other factors in energy balance and weight gain such as chemical exposures and the role of the microbiome.

People who have obesity, compared to those with a healthy weight, are at increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions, including the following: 5,6,7. Obesity and its associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the US health care system, 11 including direct and indirect costs. Indirect costs relate to sickness and death and include lost productivity. Productivity measures include employees being absent from work for obesity-related health reasons, decreased productivity while at work, and premature death and disability.

In addition, obesity has implications for armed forces recruitment. Available online pdf icon [PDF Defining the genetic architecture of the predisposition to obesity: a challenging but not insurmountable task external icon. Am J Clin Nutr ; Genetics of obesity: what have we learned?