Surgeon talks about the dangers of morbid obesity

Every fifth person in the world is diagnosed with elevated cholesterol levels, and in Russia - every second person. Experts predict that by 2030, almost 40% of the world's adult population will be obese to some degree. Morbid obesity poses a particular threat to life, warned bariatric surgeon Alexander Simakov of SM-Clinica in a conversation with Izvestia on February 4.

Morbid obesity is an extreme degree of fullness that exceeds the upper limit of the norm by almost 100%. WHO specialists apply this term to obese people with a body mass index over 40 kg/m2.

"Just imagine - in people with III (morbid) degree of obesity life expectancy is reduced by an average of 20 years. That is, young people with such a problem are at great risk of not living to an advanced age, because excessive body weight often entails dangerous diseases," the specialist noted.

Among the main reasons associated with obesity, of course, in the first place is sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet. If a person consumes more than 2 thousand kcal daily (French fries, hamburgers, pasta, sauces with mayonnaise, etc.) and at the same time almost no physical activity, it can lead to excessive accumulation of fat in the body and as a result - to obesity.

But there is another equally important factor in the development of obesity, which few people know about - it is chronic stress. When a person is highly stressed, the body begins to produce an increased production of the "stress hormone" cortisol, which contributes to changes in eating behavior. Cortisol constantly sends signals to the brain that a person has not eaten enough food and needs to be refreshed. So gradually develops an unhealthy habit of eating something without a sense of proportion, and with it the weight grows.

"For many Russians, constant stress has long since become some kind of habitual norm of life. And this, of course, is bad. After all, in combination with hypodynamia, it becomes a powerful trigger that contributes to excess weight gain and the development of morbid obesity. Every year the number of obese people in our country is only increasing, not the other way around," Simakov added.

The doctor noted - the higher the degree of obesity, the greater the load on the joints and spine. The problem is aggravated by the fact that a person has to "carry" extra 20-40 kg, or even 100 kg, all day long. At some point there are irreversible failures, and here is the result - people with excess weight joint cartilage wear out on a par with the elderly. And by the number of spinal hernias detected, people with obesity have long overtaken people of middle and older age.

The surgeon did not ignore such a problem as infertility in men and women with obesity. According to statistics, many of them have significantly reduced levels of estrogen and testosterone, and with it, fertility rates, which is associated with reproductive dysfunction.

Simakov added that most people know about the dangers of obesity, but for some reason do not strive for a healthy lifestyle. They remember about proper nutrition and physical activity only when they find themselves in the office of a nutritionist or bariatric surgeon.

Last year, on November 13, nutriciologist Veronika Gusakova told Izvestia that diets and improper lifestyle can hinder weight loss. When the body doesn't get enough food, it starts to conserve energy, lowering the basal metabolism. This means that the body begins to use less energy to maintain vital functions such as breathing, circulation. A safe caloric deficit is 15% of daily energy expenditure, she explained.