Many Americans today suffer from obesity. Being obese means being extremely overweight. Dietitians quantify obesity as being more than 20% over the desired weight. This physical state should be seriously considered as it will lead to a broad spectrum of medical disorders like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, gallstones, cancer, stroke, osteoarthritis, back pains, breathlessness, varicose veins and skin problems.

People become obese when they continually confuse appetite as hunger. Needing to eat to sustain healthy bodily functions is entirely different from ‘wanting’ to eat in order to satisfy a physiological craving. This craving may be triggered by several factors like unusual personal experiences, such as a new job, an upcoming exam, death in the family or a romantic break-up.

When left out of control, satisfying appetite cravings will naturally lead to weight gain. The extent of weight gain, of course, depends on the gravity of the person’s indulgence. It is the extreme uncontrolled appetite that will consequently lead to obesity.

Initial discomforts experienced by overweight people include breathlessness because of constriction of the diaphragm and increased workload of the heart. Skin problems, such as chafing and skin irritations between skin folds, is another one. In addition, overweight individuals may also experience back pain as their lower back takes on the pressure of the upper body because of the lack of abdominal muscle tone.

Over and above the discomforts listed above, there is the serious issue of deaths among the extremely obese. Mortality of obese patients is largely due to circulatory diseases.

Obesity among men and women normally result to significantly high blood pressure. This is a common cause of complications in bodily functions. High blood cholesterol is also evident among the severely overweight as a result of an excessive appetite for food types containing high levels of the unhealthy saturated fat. This type of fat is then transformed into cholesterol in the liver, therefore, causing an upsurge in cholesterol levels in the blood.

A higher risk of heart stroke is also noted among over-eaters. A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is hampered. Important to note is that a heart stroke normally occurs as a result of high levels of blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. So, as you can clearly see, there is a chain reaction that occurs as a result of uncontrolled appetite satiation.

So, if there three things you should remember after reading this material, it should be: Extreme appetites can kill. Learn to deal with hunger and appetite and listen to your body.