Life Expectancy & Morbid Obesity
Morbid obesity means a person has an extremely excessive amount of body fat. The body mass index (BMI) for morbid obesity is higher than it is for obesity. Obesity affects many Americans and is steadily on the rise.
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Definition
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Morbid obesity is described as a person who is more than 100 pounds over his ideal body weight. A person with a BMI of more than 40 is considered to be morbidly obese.
Life Expectancy
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Men between 20 and 30 who are morbidly obese and have a BMI of more than 45 can shorten their life expectancy by 13 to 20 years. Women of the same age and BMI can shorten theirs by 5 to 8 years.
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Causes
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Overeating and eating fattening foods combined with lack of regular exercise can result in morbid obesity. Other causes include psychological, genetic and environmental factors.
Complications
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Complications of morbid obesity include trouble sleeping because of snoring, sleep apnea, always feeling hot, depression, back pain, joint pain, feeling out of breath and rashes or infections under the folds of the skin.
Treatment
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Treatment for people with morbid obesity aims to reduce and maintain a healthy weight. Specific treatments include exercise and activity, behavior change, medications and dietary changes.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Colin Rose
