Overweight and Health (I)

Overweight definitely affects our well-being (both physical and mental health).

Obese and overweight people have a decreased life expectancy. The more overweight a person is, the lower his or her life expectancy would be.

Obese and overweight people are more accident prone mainly because excess weight limits their mobility so that they cannot easily get out of the way of danger.

A vicious cycle is set up in overweight people with arthritis of the hip, knees or feet, or in those who suffer from a ruptured intervertebral disc.

Increased weight leads to greater wear and tear on these joints, which may become more irritated and painful. The increased discomfort forces the patient to become less and less active, thereby favouring a further gain in weight.

In addition, this year, researchers at The University of Hong Kong found that being overweight and obese significantly contributes to the development of disc degeneration.  Degeneration of the joints of the spine (known as the intervertebral discs) is one of the major causes of low back pain.  Serious low back pain may prohibit the patients to maintain normal work and social life.

Overweight and obese individuals were found to have a greater extent and severity of disc degeneration in comparison to those individuals of normal weight or underweight. The end-stage disc degeneration with narrowing of the disc space was more pronounced in obese individuals.

Another study showed that persistent overweight in the early age associated strongly with risk of increased number of lumbar disc degeneration. Overweight at young age was a stronger predictor of an increase in the number of degenerated discs than overweight in middle age.

Disc degeneration is irreversible and may cause a lot of long-term suffering and psychological distress for patients.