Health Risks of Morbid Obesity
If you are living with morbid obesity, then you are living at risk for serious health conditions.
Health Risks*
| Health Condition |
Women |
Men |
| Type 2 Diabetes |
400% higher risk of occurence1 |
400% higher risk of occurence1 |
| High Blood Pressure |
210% higher risk of occurence1 |
190% higher risk of occurence1 |
| Coronary Heart Disease |
300% higher risk of occurence1 |
300% higher risk of occurence1 |
| Stroke |
137% higher risk of occurence1 |
|
Esophageal Cancer
(adenocarcinoma) |
200% higher risk of occurrence2 |
200% higher risk of occurrence2 |
| Kidney Cancer |
84% higher risk of occurrence2 |
84% higher risk of occurrence2 |
| Breast Cancer |
50% higher risk of occurrence2 |
|
| Uterine Cancer |
200% to 400% higher risk of occurrence2 |
|
Higher Mortality Rates*
Men living with morbid obesity have 50% to 100% higher mortality rates than men with a healthy weight1.
Men with Morbid Obesity Have Higher Cancer Mortality Rates*
| Type of Cancer |
Men |
| All Types |
52% higher3 |
Women living with morbid obesity have 50% to 100% higher mortality rates than women with a healthy weight1.
Women with Morbid Obesity Have Higher Cancer Mortality Rates*
| Types of Cancer |
Women |
| All types |
62% higher3 |
* Compared to people with a healthy weight.
* A Note on Relative Risk
The chart refers to “relative risk,” which compares how likely an event is to occur to a person versus another person. The chart shows how much more likely a person with morbid obesity is to develop cancer or die from cancer versus a person with a healthy weight.
Citations
1 National Institutes of Health. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults [Online] 17 August 2007.
2 National Cancer Institute. Obesity and Cancer. Questions and Answers. [Online] 31 June 2007.
3 Calle E, rodriguez C, Waler-Thurmond K, et al. Overweight, Obesity, and Mortality from Cancer in a Prospectively Studies Cohort of U.S. Adults. N Engl J Med 2003;348(17):1625-38.