Introduction
Obesity as a salient risk factor for metabolic syndrome and other chronic illnesses among global populations is a hotly debated topic, despite the fatalities and associated health complications from too much body fat. The underlying unresolved issue in the obesity debate is the possibility of increasing risks of premature deaths without common metabolic risk factors related to the condition. Lifestyle diseases are pertinent public health concerns given the prolonged exposure to behavioral modifications that instill poor dieting and physical exercise regimens, implying that restorative measures must encompass early sensitization and childhood monitoring. Obesity, as a lifestyle disease, is common in adults and children, casting serious concerns over the future directions in taming the preventable yet deadly non-communicable condition. Therefore, it is crucial to educate the masses on public health risks associated with excessive body fat. Obesity increases the chances of premature death, given the disease’s predisposition to fatal metabolic syndromes and complications.
Repudiation to Obesity Health Risks
Divergent opinions on obesity’s roles in premature death risks entail claims that excessive body fat may not cause premature death in the absence of metabolic risk factors. Perry (2018) argued that there could be metabolically healthy obesity with no other critical health concerns. Moreover, Perry (2018) claimed that nearly 1 in 17 obese Americans have no comorbid metabolic risk factors. Although the study focused on obesity without related chronic complications that increase the chances of premature death, it failed to justify how lifestyle factors lead to metabolically healthy but obese situations (Perry, 2018). Hâncu (2021) linked obesity onset and subsequent metabolic complications with lifestyle factors such as eating disorders, psychological distress, and an individual’s environment. Therefore, Perry’s (2018) argument on metabolically healthy but obese individuals would only be credible if there were justifications for lifestyle differences among the population responsible for reducing premature death risks. Considering the counterargument’s limitations, the subsequent debate holds that excessive body fat is a public health concern with premature death risks.
Obesity Health Risks
Obesity has long-term effects on early mortality vulnerability, making the disease a notable non-communicable health concern. Early exposure to metabolic syndromes increases child vulnerabilities to chronic lifestyle diseases previously associated with adults, such as type 2 diabetes (Galuska et al., 2018). Galuska et al. (2018) insisted that addressing excessive weight among children is a prerequisite for addressing type 2 diabetes. The study clarified that lifestyle patterns like diet choices and physical activity factors are key determinants of unmanageable weight, with critical implications on insulin activity due to excessive disposed fats in intra-abdominal muscles (Galuska et al., 2018). Gepstein and Weiss (2019) had similar observations, noting that pediatric obesity promoted a whole-body reduced insulin sensitivity. According to Lindberg et al. (2020), individuals with pediatric obesity have three times higher risks of all-cause mortality, beginning from middle age towards early adulthood. The rationale is that most obesity cases in childhood persist into adulthood, a period in which the affected individual is likely to have developed several metabolic syndromes. The study implications are that adults must monitor child health patterns and diet activities to arrest obesity onsets or complications.
Obesity increases incidences of cardiovascular diseases associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD). Powell-Wiley et al. (2021) associated morbid obesity with cardiomyopathy, characterized by left ventricular dilatation and increased risks of cardiac dysfunction. Cardiovascular diseases (CAD) are naturally fatal, associated with 1 in 4 deaths annually in America (Brown et al., 2022). Powell-Wiley et al. (2021) supported the statistics by detailing that individuals with body mass indices beyond 25 were likely to experience CAD-associated conditions such as congestive heart failure or abnormal heart rhythms. Brown et al. (2022) concentrated on CAD epidemiology but linked the disease to modifiable risk factors such as obesity, sedentary living, poor diets, and psychological distress. Lindberg et al. (2020) observed that most CAD patients with unexplained left ventricular hypertrophy were morbidly obese before clinical tests. Therefore, the links between obesity and sudden death due to cardiac arrests are clear implications that public health administrators managing CAD should first manage excessive body weight among affected patients.
Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) increases the risk of premature death in affected individuals due to low oxygen concentration in the blood system resulting in sleep apnea. Kreivi et al. (2020) observed that most OHS patients had chronic comorbidities, especially asthma. OHS patients differed from normal obstructive sleep apnea patients in that the OHS cohort depended on ventilation therapies for survival, showing unmanageably high mortality rates during sleep due to other underlying conditions, such as hypertension (Kreivi et al., 2020). Sleep apnea is a critically fatal disorder characterized by breathing disruptions with repeated stops and starts (Avgerinos et al., 2019). Despite OHS apnea being an obesity-promoted risk factor for premature death, it can worsen with the cardiovascular disease comorbidities equally associated with high body mass index (Bray et al., 2021). Although Kreivi et al.’s (2020) ventilation therapies can promote throat relaxation to prevent sudden breathing stops, the most sustainable approach is weight loss and subsequent healthy living. Therefore, public health cohorts must agree that obesity is the prerequisite to most lifestyle diseases associated with premature mortalities.
Excessive body weight increases the risk of several cancer infections in men and women, with high chances of premature death. Avgerinos et al. (2019) estimated that nearly 20% of cancer infections result from obesity. The link between obesity and cancer onset is that body changes like long-lasting inflammation, hormonal interruptions, and insulin level disruptions can cause cell overgrowth in strategic anatomic sites (Gepstein & Weiss, 2019). Bray et al. (2021) detailed that premature death from cancer results from infections in strategic areas such as the lungs, rectum, pancreas, and prostate glands. Avgerinos et al.’s (2019) anatomical sites were the oesophageal, pancreatic, colorectal, breast, and renal regions. Therefore, the two studies complementarily agree that diabetic cancer onsets predispose affected individuals to risks of premature death. Bray et al. (2021) illustrated that 40% of premature non-communicable deaths result from cardiovascular diseases (CVD), whereas cancer accounts for 30% of the total fatalities. Given the links between diabetes and cancer/CVD onsets, the strong argument remains that diabetes is the leading cause of premature deaths in America and globally.
Conclusion
Empirical evidence and reliable scholarly literature link obesity with fatal health complications like cardiovascular diseases, hypoventilation syndrome (OHS), and cancer. Although the diseases are fatal, numerous studies linking diabetes to cancer, CVD, or OHS onsets confirm that body weight management is an indispensable prerequisite to healthy living. Non-communicable complications that result from preventable factors are the easiest to address through public health advocacy and sensitization. Therefore, the implications of obesity’s impact on the general population’s well-being and morality rates control are that public health officials should advocate for weight loss, dieting, and physical activity programs to counter unmanageable body weight cases. Early sensitization and child monitoring education to parents can prevent pediatric obesity, which increases premature mortality risks from middle childhood to early adulthood. However, solutions are attainable by reaching a global agreement that obesity increases the risk of premature death by exposing individuals to fatal metabolic syndromes and complications.
References
Avgerinos, K. I., Spyrou, N., Mantzoros, C. S., & Dalamaga, M. (2019). Obesity and cancer risk: Emerging biological mechanisms and perspectives. Metabolism, 92, 121-135. Web.
Bray, F., Laversanne, M., Weiderpass, E., & Soerjomataram, I. (2021). The ever‐increasing importance of cancer as a leading cause of premature death worldwide. Cancer, 127(16), 3029-3030. Web.
Brown, J. C., Gerhardt, T. E., & Kwon, E. (2022). Risk factors for coronary artery disease. StatPearls Publishing LLC. Web.
Galuska, D. A., Gunn, J. P., O’Connor, A. E., & Petersen, R. (2018). Addressing childhood obesity for type 2 diabetes prevention: Challenges and opportunities. Diabetes Spectrum, 31(4), 330-335. Web.
Gepstein, V., & Weiss, R. (2019). Obesity is the main risk factor for metabolic syndrome in children. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 10, 1-7. Web.
Hâncu, A. M. (2021). Lifestyle factors and obesity. In V. Rao & L. Rao (Eds.), Role of obesity in human health and disease. IntechOpen. Web.
Kreivi, H. R., Itäluoma, T., & Bachour, A. (2020). Effect of ventilation therapy on mortality rate among obesity hypoventilation syndrome and obstructive sleep apnoea patients. ERJ Open Research, 6(2), 1-8. Web.
Lindberg, L., Danielsson, P., Persson, M., Marcus, C., & Hagman, E. (2020). Association of childhood obesity with risk of early all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A Swedish prospective cohort study. PLoS Medicine, 17(3), e1003078. Web.
Perry, S. (2018). Study: Being obese may not, on its own, increase the risk of early death. MinnPost. Web.
Powell-Wiley, T. M., Poirier, P., Burke, L. E., Després, J. P., Gordon-Larsen, P., Lavie, C. J., Lear, S., Ndumbele, C., Neeland, J., Sanders, P., St-Oge, P., & American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; and Stroke Council. (2021). Obesity and cardiovascular disease: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 143(21), e984-e1010. Web.