Obese men and women often suffer from a variety of physical complaints such as shortness of breath, rapid fatigue, profuse sweating and back, hip and knee joint pain, which are in part directly attributable to obesity. In addition, a series of other diseases also commonly occur in conjunction with obesity. Even though in this respect no simple causal relationship can be assumed (because many other factors also have an effect) the assumption is made today in the context of a multi-attribute analysis model that obesity has a particular causal significance in terms of the occurrence of these diseases.
High blood pressure (Arterial hypertension)
Epidemiological studies have shown an on-going correlation between BMI and the occurrence of hypertension, i.e. the higher the BMI the more common the diagnosis of high blood pressure ([Assmann et al. 1997], [Kuczmarski et al. 1998]).
Coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure
The higher the BMI the higher the risk of a heart attack. The relative risk of CHD at a BMI of between 25.0 and 28.9 is double the risk at normal weight. The Framingham study [Wang et al. 2003] showed that each time body weight increased by 10% the likelihood of the occurrence of CHD increased by 20%.
Type 2 diabetes
The Nurses Health Study [Colditz et al. 1990] found that there was a significant increase in the risk of diabetes at a BMI of between 23.0 and 24.9 among the women studied. The risk is higher with android fat distribution than with gynoid. It also increases with the length of time that the respective person is obese.
Fat metabolism disorders (hyperlipidemia and dyslipidemia)
All major studies confirm a correlation between body weight and lipoprotein parameters. In the case of android fat distribution, LDL cholesterol is problematically high in most cases.
Stroke
The risk of stroke among women with a BMI over 27 is 75% and among those with a BMI over 32 137% higher than among those with a BMI under 21 [Oberender et al. 2002].