Obesity is a disease and it is curable

You gain a whole new perspective on your health when you begin thinking of obesity as a disease — a disease that can lead to more than 50 medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, sleep disorders and arthritis.

Diabetes is among the most difficult conditions to treat medically. Yet 70 percent of diabetics can completely reverse their condition — just by losing weight.

Obesity is also recognized as a major risk factor for heart disease. That’s because carrying around excess weight raises your blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and lowers HDL (the good cholesterol) in your system.

“People often end up taking several medications to control these conditions. But I’ve witnessed obese patients lose enough weight to clear out a full medicine cabinet of pills and prescriptions they no longer need,” says J. Stephen Scott, M.D., medical director of the SSM Weight- Loss Institute at DePaul.

Obesity is also associated with arthritis and other bone and joint problems. As you grow older, you may need to use a cane or face joint-replacement surgery.

It is even associated with some cancers. A higher percentage of the obese develop cancers of the prostate, esophagus and uterus.

The good news is that obesity is curable. “Weight-loss is the most powerful medical therapy available today,” says Dr. Scott. Losing as little as ten percent of your body weight can have a positive effect on your health. Losing 50 pounds or more may prevent or reverse many of the adverse effects just discussed.

Weight loss is not easy. So how do you start? Dr. Scott recommends finding a support group or a supportive friend that you can talk to, and who can encourage you. He also suggests writing down specifically what your goal is, when you expect to accomplish it and how you are going to achieve it. That includes how you plan to increase your activity level and decrease your calorie intake.