Common diseases associated with weight gain

Weight gain is a problem. The overall health condition of a human being worsens due to several reasons and the most prominent one among them is extra weight. Weight gain is a menace as it potentially disturbs the health of an individual. Therefore, for most diseases doctors and health experts always advise to bring the weight under control first.

There are several diseases associated with weight gain and it is very important to understand the link between the diseases and the weight gain condition so that timely action on weight management can save the health from deteriorating.

Read: How to boost your metabolism to speed up weight loss

About 8 out of 10 people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or have obesity, says the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and suggests that if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, losing 5 to 7 percent of your body weight and getting regular physical activity may prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The link between overweight and high blood pressure is an area of interest among researchers. There is a direct correlation between blood pressure and weight. People with high blood pressure are always advised to lose weight first and add physical exercise to their daily routine.

Obesity leads to the development of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease mortality independently of other cardiovascular risk factors, say research studies. The mechanisms through which obesity increases cardiovasular disease risk involve changes in body composition that can affect hemodynamics and alter heart structure, research reports also say.

Overweight is a strong independent predictor of heart disease even in the absence of other risk factors.

As per a research study, cancer of the breast (postmenopausal), colon–rectum, endometrium, ovary, pancreas, kidney, gallbladder, gastric cardia, liver, oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), meningioma, thyroid and multiple myeloma have a positive association with being overweight.

As the name suggests, fatty liver disease is when the fat build up in the liver exceeds its normal level. Usually the liver contains a small amount of fat. When this fat level increases to become 5 to 10% of your liver's weight, one gets fatty liver. While alcoholic fatty liver is a common occurrence, obesity is linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Weight loss is directly related to sleep apnea which is a condition where the normal sleep pattern of an individual is disturbed within the cycle of sleep. In this condition, a person does not get sufficient sleep even after sleeping for 8 hours. Insufficient sleep in turn increases weight thus completing the cycle of association between sleep and weight.

As per research study, 40% of those with obesity have sleep apnea problems.