OTHER HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

In addition to diabetes, obesity is linked to heart disease, osteoarthritis (pain in the joints as a result of abnormal wearing of the cartilage), high blood pressure, stroke, gallbladder disease, respiratory problems, and an increased risk of some kinds of cancer such as uterine, breast, and colon cancer. In a 2008 study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California, researchers found a greater incidence of dementia linked with a potbelly, otherwise known as having an apple-shaped body type. In the study, the belly was measured using a set of calipers that measured from the back to the top of the abdomen. Those individuals measuring 10 inches from back to upper abdomen were classified to have an apple-shaped body. Researchers followed up on these individuals an average of 36 years later and found that the individuals with high belly measurements and normal weight were 89 percent more likely to have dementia than people with low belly measurements and normal body weight. Overweight people were 82 percent more likely to have dementia even if they had a low belly measurement and obese people with a low belly measurement were 81 percent more likely to develop dementia than their thinner counterparts. The researchers could not pinpoint exactly why the distribution of fat, not just a higher amount of body fat, would contribute to dementia but did theorize that the abdominal fat likely pumps out substances that harm the brain.¹

Source: "Drugs The Straight Facts: Weight-Loss Drugs," Chelsea House, 2009