Introduction
Obesity has been a medical problem and cosmetic concern which involves individuals having excessive fat due to consumption of more calories. Over the years the rate of obesity in America has tremendously increased. The disease is becoming widespread, with some states being more affected than others. Therefore, obesity is deemed a serious health concern related to reduced quality of life and poor health, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. Obesity and being overweight go hand in hand. Health specialists and nutritionists classify individuals based on their body mass index to overweight, underweight, and healthy weight (Nogueira-de-Almeida & Mello, 2018). The measure of body fat and height of an individual is essential in determining the status and classification of an individual. The main cause of this health problem in the United States has not yet been fully examined, but speculations go that individuals consume too much food and conduct less physical activity and exercise.
On the other hand, dyslipidemia refers to the increase in triglycerides, plasma cholesterol, or both, contributing to the evolution of fat build-ups, cholesterol, and other materials inside and on the arterial walls. Obesity is a significant risk factor in dyslipidemia, such that it is responsible for the evolution of cardiovascular diseases (Vekic et al., 2019). The body of a patient with obesity tends to be ever overworked as it is required to regulate the entire body while performing the functions of a normal weight individual. At most times, obese individuals can experience high blood pressure as the body is trying to regulate the body. Body mass index, age, and triglycerides will be the major variables that affect the rate of obesity and, therefore, dyslipidemia in an individual.This paper will focus on answering the question on the relation of obesity and dyslipidemia,explaining the different variables that are determinant in the two conditions and the risk factors that tend to prevail as a result.
Discussion
Most of the individuals who are obese tend to be dyslipidemic. The frequency of obesity in the last few years has risen significantly worldwide, such that children have also been affected by the crisis (Feingold, 2020). Generally, the majority of deaths that are a result of high body mass index are mostly due to cardiovascular disease. Most obese individuals tend to show lipid abnormalities, including triglyceride, non-HDL-C levels, and Apo B. Obesity is known to impact the metabolism of lipids such that the effects of obesity depend on where the adipose tissue is located (Vekic et al., 2019). This means that an increased visceral adipose tissue and the intravenous adipose tissue in the upper trunkare related to high triglycerides and low levels of HDL-C. In the legs, when there is an increase in adipose tissue, the levels of triglycerides are low. Therefore, the shielding effect of the leg fat can be used as an explanation as to why most women and African Americans tend to have lower triglycerides.
The body mass index is considered linearly related to the amount of cholesterol and concentration of triglyceride in the body but has an opposite relationship with HDL cholesterol. Dyslipidemia is known to have a strong association with obesity, overweight, and the comorbid conditions of obesity (Nogueira-de-Almeida & Mello, 2018). The frequency of dyslipidemia is therefore dependent on age and gender. In male individuals aged 20 to 59, the occurrence of dyslipidemia is higher compared to that of women, while the conditions are known to have a drastic increase in females aged 59 years and above.
Varying abnormalities are known to cause dyslipidemia in obese individuals. The combination of the higher distribution of fatty acids to the liver is known to be a contributing factor to the abnormalities. The overproduction of very low- density lipoprotein in the liver is among the key abnormalities that contribute to the increase in serum triglyceride levels. The availability of triglycerides tends to affect the rate at which the VLDL particles are secreted in the liver, and it is determined by the degree of fatty acids present in the body for the triglycerides synthesis in the liver (Deeb et al., 2018). Fatty acids are important in the body such that they are used for the storage of energy in the body, but some sources that produce them, especially in the liver, tend to be altered in the case of obese individuals. In obese individuals and patients, a decrease in insulin activity as a result of insulin resistance causes an increased disintegration of triglycerides in the adipose tissue hence enhancing the fatty acids distribution to the liver.
With the changes in lifestyles and quality of life, obesity has also increased in children. According to Feingold, (2020), the rate of obesity in children is at 16% this quite a high number, considering that the United States has quite a high population. Obesity in childhood is considered a key precursor of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood, which is modifiable. 17% of United States’ youths that are obese tend to have lipoprotein cholesterol of low density, which is abnormal. Therefore, the intensity of obesity corresponds with the regularity of high cholesterol and high triglycerides (Zhang et al., 2019). Compared to dyslipidemia related to obesity, the relationship between lipoprotein cholesterol with a low density is considered less strong.
With the 16% of children in the United States that are obese and have cardiovascular risk factors, some challenges exist in identifying and treating conditions such as obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension in early childhood. Although it is a risk factor that is quite easy to identify, obesity is also the most challenging of the risk factors to improve. Healthcare providers do not offer adequate training while communicating the risk of unhealthy weight to patients and their families. According to statistics, based on sex, more women and young girls tend to be more obese compared to men and girls. In the United States, for instance, people’s lifestyles are a contributing factor to obesity as men tend to indulge in physical activity and exercise more than women.
Conclusion
Obesity is considered a pro-inflammatory state as a result of the macrophages that penetrate the adipose tissue. Adipokines have the function of regulating the metabolism of lipids, and in the case of obese individuals, the adiponectin levels which circulate are low. Resistin, which is directly known to correspond to the triglyceride levels of plasma, is high in obese individuals (Rathwa et al., 2019).According to kinetic studies, the elevation of lipid and lipoproteins in obesity can be attained through various mechanisms, including increased secretion with low catabolism of apo-1 and low secretion and a high catabolism apoB. Several pipeline therapies have also been named for correcting the atherogenic abnormalities which are in the metabolism of lipoproteins.
Reference List
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