Some time ago people around the world lived mainly in poverty. It was a usual thing to be underweight. Furthermore, people starved to death.

Nowadays we are faced with quite an opposite process: hundreds of men and women worldwide gain weight. Sometimes it happens in such amount, that the obesity becomes deadly weapon. It kills slowly by provoking the development of different diseases in the body.

In spite of the social status, irrespective of whether a person is rich or poor, he can become obese – gain much more weight above the normal body mass. The reasons can be different – starting with the heredity and finishing with genetically modified food, which can strongly influence health.

It is well known that younger people (especially men) have more muscles and less fat in the body (excluding the cases of obesity which started in the childhood). When they become older muscles tend to decrease. Their place is often substituted by fat. Therefore, older people are more likely to become overweight and obese.

The situation with women is a little different: they have less muscle and more fat even in the young age, and very often they become overweight after the end of pregnancy. Sociologists confirm that more than a half of all adult American women are overweight and one third are obese. To compare the exact amount, see the table below the article.

With every pound a woman approaches closer to the development of a new disease. There exist a number of diseases associated mostly with women.

Obesity is known to be a serious risk factor for obstetric and gynecologic complications expressed in a high rate of menstrual disturbance and infertility; hypertension, urinary infection and toxemia during the pregnancy; increased blood loss, endometrial infection and inflammation during child delivery. Obese women have more Cesarean deliveries and a risk of wound complications after surgery.

One of the extremely unpleasant diseases is urinary stress incontinence (involuntary urine loss), especially after pregnancy and delivery, sometimes up to 18 months.

Low back pain is also a problem peculiar more often to women.

The risk of breast cancer grows in the obese women in postmenopausal period. By the way, men with obesity can also suffer from breast cancer. Other forms of this terrible disease – renal cell and endometrial cancer – target quite often obese persons and women in particular.

The list of the above mentioned diseases terrifies. At the same time, it is a drop of water in the sea, because a lot of other problems can hurt obese women as well as men: diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, gallbladder disease, gout, pancreatitis, heat disorders, sleep apnea… Plus, we should not forget about the psychological problems such as depression and inferiority complex.

Now, as we know all this, we can suppose that women’s health is in greater danger than that of men. So if we say that a woman is psychologically stronger than a man, probably, this is the main factor, which helps her to live longer than men usually do.

Many people agree that the main woman’s aim in life is to deliver and raise a strong new generation. So, dear women, it is not enough to be beautiful, you must be healthy. Therefore, do not be too lazy to take care of your health.

Ivanna

Table 1

Increase in Overweight, Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence Among U.S. Women*
Weight Category	1988 to 1994 Prevalence (%)	1999 to 2000 Prevalence (%)
Overweight (BMI > 25)	51.2	62
Obesity (BMI > 30)	26	34
Severe Obesity (BMI >40)	4	6.3
Source: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health, United States (Table 70) 2002. Flegal et. al. 2002;288:1723-7. *Ages 20 to 74 for overweight and obesity prevalence and ages 20 and older for severe obesity.