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    What is obesity?

Obesity means that you have an unhealthy amount of body fat. Everyone needs some body fat, but too much fat can cause health problems. Overweight and obesity are defined using a tool called Body Mass Index (BMI) . BMI is a way of estimating total body fat for most people.

    What causes being overweight and obesity?

The main causes of being overweight or obese are eating too much and/or not being active enough. If you eat more calories than your body burns up, the extra calories are stored as fat. Everyone has some stored fat. Too much fat results in being overweight or obese. Other factors that may affect your weight include your genes (obesity tends to run in families), your metabolism (how your body processes food), your racial/ethnic group, and your age. Sometimes an illness or medicine can contribute to weight gain. Researchers are studying the causes of obesity to learn more about how to prevent and reverse it.

    What are some of the serious health problems linked to obesity?

If you are overweight or obese, you are more likely to develop health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. The good news is that losing weight can improve how your heart works, lower your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol levels, and lower your chances of getting other health problems.

Overweight and obesity are linked to:

•  Heart disease. Heart disease includes heart attack, heart failure, and angina (chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart).

•  Stroke. A stroke is sometimes called a "Brain Attack." Most strokes are caused by a blood clot blocking an artery that takes blood to the brain.

•  Diabetes. Overweight people are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as people who are not overweight. Type 2 diabetes reduces your body's ability to control your blood sugar. It is a major cause of early death, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and blindness. If you have type 2 diabetes, losing weight and being more physically active can help control your blood sugar levels. You may also be able to reduce the amount of medicine that you need.

•  Cancer of the gallbladder, breast, uterus, cervix, and ovaries (for women). Overweight men are at greater risk for developing cancer of the colon, rectum, and prostate.

•  Gallstones or gallbladder disease. Gallbladder disease and gallstones are more common if you are overweight. Your risk of disease increases as your weight increases. But weight loss itself, particularly rapid weight loss or loss of a large amount of weight, can actually increase your chances of getting gallstones. Modest, slow weight loss of about 1 pound a week is less likely to cause gallstones.

•  Osteoarthritis (wearing away of the joints). Osteoarthritis is a common joint disorder that most often affects the joints in your knees, hips, and lower back. Extra weight puts extra pressure on these joints and wears away the cartilage (tissue that cushions the joints) that normally protects them. Weight loss may improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

•  Gout (joint pain caused by excess uric acid ). Gout is a joint disease caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid sometimes forms crystals that are deposited in the joints. Gout is more common in overweight people. If you have a history of gout, check with your doctor before trying to lose weight. Some diets may lead to an attack of gout in people who have high levels of uric acid or who have had gout before.

•  Breathing problems, including sleep apnea (interrupted breathing during sleep). Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can cause a person to stop breathing for short periods during sleep and to snore heavily. Sleep apnea may cause daytime sleepiness and even heart failure. The risk for sleep apnea increases with higher body weights. Weight loss usually improves sleep apnea.

•  High blood cholesterol. High levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") and triglycerides (another type of fat in the blood) can lead to heart disease. Obesity is also linked to low levels of HDL cholesterol ("good cholesterol"). Weight loss can improve your cholesterol levels.

•  High blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Obese adults are twice as likely to have high blood pressure as those who are at a healthy weight. Weight loss can lower your blood pressure.

•  Complications of pregnancy. Obesity increases the risks of high blood pressure and a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. Obese women are more likely to have problems with labor and delivery.

•  Irregular menstrual cycles and infertility. Abdominal obesity is linked to polycystic ovary syndrome , a cause of infertility in women.