MORBID OBESITY
Via ASMBS
OVERVIEW
• Morbid obesity is a life-threatening disease that results in an extremely high level of body fat equivalent to being at least 100 pounds overweight. A person with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more, or a BMI of 35 or more with an obesity-related disease, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, is also classified as having morbid obesity
• A person with a BMI between 25 – 29.9 is considered overweight; a BMI of 30 – 39.9 obese
• BMI, the most common measurement tool to assess obesity is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters, squared: Weight in kilograms Height in meters
• Overweight and obesity costs the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $117 billion annually, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
PREVALENCE
• About 15 million people or 1 in 50 adults in the U.S. have morbid obesity
• Obesity (BMI 30 or more) increased by 24%, morbid obesity (BMI 40 or more) increased by 50% and super obesity (BMI 50 or more) increased by 75%, according to a 2007 RAND study
• Morbid obesity is growing at about twice the rate of obesity and super obesity is growing by about three times the rate, according to a 2003 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine
RISKS
• Morbid obesity is associated with more than 30 illnesses and medical conditions including: type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension and most types of cancer. Other conditions include: asthma, osteoarthritis, joint degeneration, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic headaches, liver disease, sleep apnea, lower back pain and urinary incontinence
• Obesity is related to 112,000 deaths each year in the U.S., according to a 2005 study published in the Journal of the American Medical association (JAMA), led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO MORBID OBESITY
• Genetics: According to the NIH, several studies have shown that adopted children have weights closer to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents
• Metabolism: The resting metabolic rate (RMR) – the energy needed to keep the body functioning at rest – can vary substantially from one person to another, which may help explain why some people gain weight quicker than others and find it more difficult to lose weight
• Environmental factors: Lifestyle, dietary habits, and physical activity, have a particularly strong influence on the likelihood of being or becoming obese
o A study published in the journal American Psychologist (April 2007), found that while people can lose weight initially, between one-third and two-thirds gain back the weight after two to five years of dieting. Evidence also suggests that repeatedly losing and gaining weight is linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and altered immune function
• Psychological factors: Many people overeat or binge to suppress negative emotions or escape from problems
