by Ruth Rosa Lenox on January 12, 2012
Infertility is one of the major problems related to obesity and this problem is compounded with every pound rise in weight. Research says that every unit increase in BMI over 29 reduces the chances of fertility by 4%. Thus morbidly obese females have very low rate of fertility as compared to age-matched women with normal weight.
Obesity hampers fertility in several ways; hormonal disturbances are thought to be the main cause of infertility in obese women. Obese females usually don’t have regular menstruation and ovulation which are cornerstones of achieving pregnancy. Another astonishing fact is that even those obese women who have regular menstruation and ovulation still have little chances of pregnancy. This fact was testified in a research by Dr. Van der Steeg, a medical researcher at the Academic Medical Center in The Netherlands. This means the mechanism behind low fertility rate in obesity is very complex and many missing links are yet to be elucidated.
Losing weight improves many obesity related problems and if weight loss is gradual, it also increases pregnancy rate. Weight loss improves fertility by several ways by removing the bad effects of obesity. Several studies have been published emphasizing the significance of weight loss in improving fertility. Some of the proposed mechanisms are as follows,
Weight loss reduces insulin resistance which is beneficial in improving fertility rate in women having polycystic ovarian disease. Insulin resistance is an important factor causing infertility in PCOS, when it is removed, hormonal disturbances also improve so is chance of getting pregnancy.
Weight loss helps improves menstrual irregularities in obese ladies and induces normal ovulatory cycles. This again increases the chances of pregnancy.
Having or achieving normal weight not only improves the chances of pregnancy but it is also helpful in reducing pregnancy related problems. Research has found that obese ladies entering pregnancy have more chances of getting gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, fetal abnormalities and difficult labor. This is again a valid reason for achieving normal weight before being pregnant.
Weight loss needs a solid commitment and a right selection of weight loss program. General measures (exercise and dieting) and medications are effective in losing weight in mild to moderate obesity (BMI 30-35) but morbid obesity (BMI more than 40) is a special issue which is best solved with Bariatric surgery. Weight loss surgery is extremely effective at losing weight in morbid obesity. The only remembering point is that weight loss surgery is a specialized surgery for which only dedicated Bariatric surgery hospital is a safe site. Don’t choose a substandard cheap weight loss surgery center that lacks many of the much needed facilities for safety of the patient.
by Ruth Rosa Lenox on December 31, 2011
Obesity is a giant obstacle in the way of healthy living. It disturbs the function of almost every organ of our body. Pancreas is among the most important organs that serves many vital functions. It not only helps in digestion of food in the intestine by producing pancreatic juice but also the main source of insulin in our body. Increased body fat (as in case of obesity) is a danger for severe inflammation of pancreas called acute pancreatitis. This inflammation may lead to a number of complications including death.
Acute pancreatitis is a condition in which inflammation of pancreas cause severe pain in upper abdomen along with symptoms like vomiting, low blood pressure and others depending upon the severity of pancreatitis. Almost 80% patients suffer mild pancreatitis while 20% patients have severe pancreatitis with local and systemic complications. But in case of obesity more and more complications occur.
Complications of acute pancreatitis can be divided into local complications and systemic complications. Local complications include necrosis and inflammation of the pancreas, necrosis of the colon, rupture of spleen and bleeding from gastrointestinal tract. Systemic complications include coagulopathy (deranged function of blood clotting), hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia, renal failure, respiratory failure and hypovolumic shock. The consequences of pancreatitis in the long run may be pancretitic insufficiency in which pancreas is not able to produce pancreatic juice and digestive system is affected badly as well as diabetes mellitus.
How Obesity Enhances Severity of Pancreatitis?
Research shows that fat tissue of our body serves endocrine function and releases substances called adipokines which are main culprit in producing severe inflammation of pancreas. Severity of obesity is directly related to severity of acute pancreatitis. Obesity is considered one of the prognostic factors in acute pancreatitis so patients who have normal weight recover from pancreatitis easily without acquiring complications while those who are obese suffer complications of pancreatitis more frequently. Some of the facts about obesity and complications of acute pancreatitis are as follows,
- Obese patients have more severe inflammation of pancreas than non-obese patients
- Systemic and local complications of acute pancreatitis are seen more frequently than in patients with normal weight
- Chances of dying in acute pancreatitis are more in obese people than in non-obese patients
Conclusion
The above discussion signifies the importance of normal weight in bearing the stress of acute pancreatits. Obesity is a life threatening condition that should be addressed seriously. Good thing about the complications of the obesity is that most of them are reversible if weight reduction is done in time. Losing weight remains challenge in morbid obesity where simple measures like dieting and exercise don’t prove much effective in significant weight loss. In case of morbid obesity in which patient has BMI more than 40 the only effective and time tested measure is weight loss or bariatric surgery.
The beauty of bariatric surgery is that it has a number of options individualized to need of people selecting this wonderful way of losing weight. Effectiveness of bariatric surgery is above board; people who undergo bariatric surgery procedures at specialized bariatric surgery hospitals feel the difference in weeks. Many complications of obesity are cured automatically when patient comes to normal weight. Important thing to remember is that bariatric surgery is a specialized type of surgery that should only be done by experienced surgeon in safe environment. Both experienced surgeon and safety of procedure is only available at dedicated bariatric surgery hospitals not in substandard surgery centers.
