This is an automatically translated article.
The article was professionally consulted by Dr. Phan Dinh Thuy Tien - General Internal Medicine - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.Excessive nutrition and sedentary lifestyle make obesity appear in all ages and tend to increase obesity in the elderly.
1. Obesity in the elderly
As age increases, the body's metabolism will decrease, the elderly's ability to receive energy will be less than when they were young, because of this, it has promoted the risk of obesity. in the elderly.With age, the muscles atrophy, leading to a decrease in the energy needed to maintain the body's activities. Therefore, if excess energy is provided, it will cause overweight and obesity in the elderly.
The basal metabolic rate in the body declines, the excretion of digestive enzymes decreases, causing a deficiency of some micronutrients such as vitamin B12 (a vitamin that converts fat into energy) making the elderly elderly. tend to be more prone to obesity in the elderly.
The diet of the elderly is often high in protein, rich in nutrients but sedentary, using many beauty products such as royal jelly, sheep placenta is also the cause of obesity in the elderly. .
Chế độ ăn của người cao tuổi thường giàu chất dinh dưỡng nhưng lại ít vận động, chính là nguyên nhân gây nên bệnh béo phì ở người cao tuổi
2. Serious harm of obesity
Obesity makes the body unbalanced, heavy, slow... The harmful effects of overweight and obesity are poor health, reduced labor productivity and uncomfortable quality of life.
Osteoarthritis: People with obesity are prone to osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, constant pain due to body weight putting pressure on bones and joints. Knee joints and spine are injured the earliest. Overweight and obese people are prone to gout. Cardiovascular disease: People with obesity are often accompanied by dyslipidemia, commonly known as blood lipids or high cholesterol. When high cholesterol causes atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack. On the other hand, in obese people, the heart has to work harder to pump blood to feed the body and in the long run, overload the heart, so that in obese people, it is easy to have cardiovascular diseases. Currently, the death rate from cardiovascular disease is leading among causes, in which many cases are complications of obesity. Diabetes: Obesity is closely related to type 2 diabetes because it causes insulin resistance (the hormone that regulates blood sugar and quickly puts glucose into cells for use) so it is a direct cause of diabetes. type 2 diabetes in people with obesity.
Bệnh béo phì có liên quan mật thiết tới tiểu đường type 2
People with obesity are prone to gastrointestinal diseases: Because obesity causes excess fat to stick to the intestinal loops causing constipation, it is easy to produce hemorrhoids. The stagnation of feces and toxic wastes generated in the metabolism can lead to colon cancer. Excess fat accumulated in the liver causes fatty liver disease, if not treated promptly, it can lead to cirrhosis... Fatty metabolism disorder produces gallstones. Obesity causes memory loss: Overweight and obese children often have lower IQs than children of normal weight. Obesity in the elderly may cause a higher risk of Alzheimer's than the general population. Respiratory diseases: The activity of the diaphragm and tracheobronchial tubes of obese people is often limited due to "fat clinging", people with obesity often have breathing disturbances, snoring, sleep apnea, obesity. The more severe the obesity, the more disturbances in breathing. Reduced life expectancy: Recent scientific studies have proven that obesity reduces life expectancy by 6-8 years Endocrine disorders due to obesity: Women with obesity often have menstrual and ovarian disorders. Polycystic eggs, difficult to get pregnant, high risk of infertility. If the pregnancy is at risk of having a difficult delivery, the baby is prone to metabolic disorders. Men with obesity are often physiologically weak, at risk of infertility. Obesity and cancer risk: Some studies show an association between obesity and cancer such as esophageal cancer, rectal cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, hepatobiliary cancer, and cancer. prostate mail. For the elderly, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal conditions are quite common, so before exercising, it is necessary to have a general health check, consult with doctors, experts on physical activity. effort to get advice on the most suitable exercise for each elderly person with obesity.
For elderly people with varying degrees of functional impairment, physical activity may simply require changes in posture in daily life or slow, gentle walking movements with a cane. or crutches also made sense.
Besides, elderly people should monitor their BMI regularly every month, if they do not gain weight or lose a little weight in the first few weeks, it is considered successful, continue to adjust until BMI becomes normal. about the ideal level (20-22).
Each method can produce different results for each patient with obesity in the elderly. Much depends on the condition of the disease and the body of each person. Therefore, the best way is to go to medical facilities to be examined and treated according to the treatment protocol of the doctor.
With many harmful effects of overweight and obesity, the elderly should have a general health examination every 6 months to detect and treat the disease early. It is necessary to limit the factors related to obesity as mentioned above.
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