Obesity

Obesity has become a global epidemic in both children and adults.  Obesity rates continue to rise every year in America. and around the world. Approximately 203 million Americans, or 67 percent, are either overweight or obese.  More than 2 billion of the 6 billion people worldwide are either overweight or obese.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality as well as reduced life expectancy; and, is associated with numerous co-morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), Type 2 diabetes, hyper-tension, certain cancers, and sleep apnea/sleep-disordered breathing.

Health service use and medical costs associated with obesity and related diseases have risen dramatically and are expected to continue to rise. Besides an altered metabolic profile, a variety of adaptations/alterations in cardiac structure and function occur in the individual as adipose tissue accumulates in excess amounts. Hence, obesity may affect the heart through its influence on known risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, glucose intolerance, inflammatory markers, and obstructive sleep apnea/ hypoventilation. 

Belly Fat Cells Are Dangerous!

Obesity is a silent-killer, but, more specifically, it's the fat cells in the belly area that are so dangerous. In fact, you do not have to be "obese" to be in danger of these fat cells. If you have excess belly fat, you have these dangerous fat cells.

Why are these fat cells so dangerous?

Because these fat cells are active -- they send out signals that lead to cellular inflammation, that can trigger other health issues such as high homocysteine and high CRP, which are pre-cursors to arterial plaque formation, heart disease, and heart attacks.

Obesity is a Progressive Disease                               

Inflammation -- The Real Culprit

Fat cells produce pro-inflammatory substances including leptin, TNF, IL-6, and resistin, affecting the whole body. Thus, overweight people become subject to a body-wide state of chronic, low-grade inflammation, induced by fat itself.

But, the effect of fat on inflammation is just half of the cycle. The effects of inflammation on fat are equally intense. When inflammation is severe, as in a life-threatening infection, it can cause tremendous weight loss. 

With severe inflammation, the body cannibalizes itself and both fat and muscle cells are destroyed. This is not a good way to lose weight. The breakdown of muscle is always greater than the breakdown of fat.

When inflammation is mild and chronic, producing few symptoms and only subtle changes on blood tests, inflammation has a very different effect on your metabolism. Chronic low-grade inflammation makes your brain and body resistant to the normal regulatory effects of leptin and other hormones, including insulin and cortisol. Insulin is made in the pancreas and cortisol is made in the adrenal glands. In excess, either can have a devastating effect on your attempts to lose weight. High insulin levels prevent the breakdown of fat. 

Cortisol actually causes fat cells to grow.

Mild elevation of the level of CRP in blood is associated with obesity and with weight gain. Weight loss, on the other hand, produces a decrease in CRP. In people with a history of heart disease, mild elevation of CRP predicts an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. In adults who develop diabetes, elevated CRP occurs before the onset of diabetes.

In people with normal blood pressure, elevated CRP predicts the future development of high blood pressure. In aging adults, high CRP is associated with muscle weakness and frailty. Studies of CRP have proven the close relationship between silent, chronic inflammation and the development of the most common chronic diseases of modern society.

Inflammation and fat share a complex relationship. When inflammation is severe, as in a life-threatening infection, it can cause tremendous weight loss. With severe inflammation, both fat and muscle cells are destroyed; the breakdown of muscle is always greater than the breakdown of fat. When inflammation is mild and chronic, however, producing few symptoms and only subtle changes on blood tests, inflammation has a very different effect on your metabolism. It disrupts hormones.

Acting through the complex networks of chemicals involved in homeostasis, inflammation makes your cells resistant to the normal regulatory effects of leptin and other hormones, including insulin and cortisol.

The more fat in your body, the greater the level of inflammation in your body. Not only does this fat-derived inflammation prevent leptin from helping you lose weight, it causes other hormonal effects that interfere with permanent weight loss. Inflammation raises the level of insulin and cortisol, two hormones that actually cause your body to make more fat.

 

Insulin and Cortisol  

Insulin is a hormone produced in your pancreas. Its best known effect is to lower blood sugar by driving sugar and other nutrients into cells, especially muscle cells. Your muscles need insulin to help them produce energy and recover from the effects of exercise.

Inflammation interferes with the effect of insulin on your muscles. Just as inflammation causes leptin resistance, it is a major cause of  insulin resistance.

With insulin resistance, your muscles are not fully responsive to insulin, so they don’t efficiently burn the sugar that circulates in your blood. As a result, your blood sugar starts to rise. Your pancreas responds by releasing more insulin. When the degree of insulin resistance outpaces the ability of your pancreas to produce more insulin, diabetes occurs.

Whether or not you actually develop diabetes, high levels of circulating insulin can have seriously negative effects. There are some actions of insulin that occur outside of muscle and are not impaired during insulin resistance. As insulin levels increase, these effects of insulin are felt. High insulin levels make your kidneys retain fluid, raising your blood pressure and creating that feeling of being bloated and swollen.

 

Consequently, many diabetics (and even some non-diabetics) suffer with high blood sugar and high blood pressure. But, instead of treating the root cause, your doctor gives you 2 different drugs -- one for the high blood sugar (diabetes) and another one for the high blood pressure.

As a result, over the years, your blood sugar problem doesn't really get any better, and your blood pressure doesn't get any better either. How do you know? Because, more than likely, you are now taking more than the original 2 medications, or you're taking higher dosages of these medications.

High insulin levels prevent cells from breaking down fat, making it harder to lose weight through dieting. Insulin also turns on genes that produce a number of mediators of inflammation, so with high insulin, as with high leptin, the level of inflammation in your body increases. So, you can see why long-term use of insulin injections may not be the best course for a person with Type 2 diabetes.

Your brain and your adrenal glands are attuned to the level of inflammation in your body. As inflammation increases, your brain sends a signal to your adrenal glands to produce more of a hormone called cortisol. You may be familiar with cortisone, a drug used to relieve symptoms of inflammation like itching, redness or pain. Cortisol is the natural equivalent of the drug, made in your own adrenal glands in response to stress. 

Cortisol naturally combats inflammation, but at a high price. Cortisol increases the amount of belly fat. It also causes fluid retention, muscle weakness, memory loss, high blood pressure, and further raises your blood sugar. The increase in blood sugar then stimulates a further increase in insulin.

Adrenal Fatigue

After making some dietary and lifestyle changes, if you still can’t lose that belly fat, and you feel tired all the time, you may be experiencing adrenal fatigue.

Have you been working out and feel you are doing everything right; yet the unwanted fat around your belly still won't go?  This could mean that you're overdoing it and having adrenal fatigue. Surprisingly as it may seem, exercise can do you more harm than good, if done improperly.

Here are some signs of possible adrenal fatigue:

• Loss of sleep (not wanting to get out of bed in the morning)
• Constantly tired throughout the day
• Feel run down all the time and lack energy for anything
• Drinking more caffeinated beverages (energy drinks or coffee) to stay alert
• Eating more salty foods and processed foods
• Feeling more stressed than usual and often feeling depressed
• Loss of sex drive
• Significant signs of weight gain especially in your midsection area

When your adrenal glands give up or stop working properly this can lead to depression, weight gain, fatigue and many other health issues.