Body Fat and Disease Risk

If your body weight goes up, not just body fat increases, but also the risk of various diseases. That's because the conditions that can make a person old quickly, such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and pain, closely related to the presence of excess fat.

In determining the normal weight, you can use body mass index (BMI), which divides weight by height squared. Value exceeding 25 is considered overweight (overweight) and obese if the value exceeds 30. In addition to calculating BMI, you can also measure the fatness of the abdominal circumference. For women, the maximum is 80 cm and 90 cm for men.

In addition to making the body so it is not agile, piles of fat in the body will invite the arrival of the disease. Similar to other body parts, fat tissue also requires oxygen and nutrients from the blood. With the increased need for oxygen and nutrients, then the amount of blood flow throughout the body would have to increase as well. Thus, increasing the risk of high blood pressure.

Excess fat is also associated with increased LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Over time, these blood fat changes had a role in the formation of fatty deposits (plaques) in arteries. This condition is called atherosclerosis which can make your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

Diabetes type 2 is also closely linked to being overweight. Excess fat will directly influence the body's ability to balance blood sugar.

In addition to cardiovascular disease, according to Dr. John Tjandrawinata, SpGK from Boromeus Hospital, Bandung, there are several types of cancer associated with being overweight. "In women, such as breast cancer and uterine cancer. While in obese men, a greater risk of pancreatic cancer and biliary stones," he said.

What should be known is weight loss no matter how small would be useful. If you are obese, then lower the weight as much as 10 percent of it will give a positive effect on health.