Morbid obesity, as the name suggests, is considered a disease that develops because of gaining excess weight much more weight than your ideal body weight. This condition negatively affects the immune system, nervous system, psychology, and blood vessel system.
This disease begins with gaining fat and as it becomes worse, the excessive weight gain reduces the quality of life. After a while, it becomes impossible to move and if you take no actions to lose weight, it can be life-threatening. Complications can become serious and incurable.
Research conducted by the American Metabolic and Bariatric Association found out that obese patients have a 12% shorter life expectancy had to be faced.
When the body begins to have movement difficulty due to excess weight, the immune system collapses. Therefore, the probability of death increases.
The main index that shows whether you have morbid obesity or not is Body Mass Index or BMI. According to your BMI treatment methods are applied to ensure a healthy life for the patients.
Body Mass Index Chart
The number of your BMI shows your weight and height ratio. The importance of this number is in showing whether you have a healthy body or not in general. Although there is not a 100% connection between body mass index and health up to a certain level, at least it gives a clear understanding of an individual’s obesity status.
BMI: Your weight (in kg) / the square of your height (in meters)
The result is a number between 15 and 70. You can understand whether you have severe obesity by examining your BMI:
- Less than 18.5: The person’s body weight is less than what it should be,
- 18.5 < BMI < 24.9: Normal weight,
- 25 < BMI < 30: Pre-obesity (you have little extra weight),
- 30 < BMI < 34.9: First degree obesity,
- 35 < BMI < 39.9: Second degree obesity,
- 40 < BMI < 44.9: Third-degree obesity,
- 45 < BMI fourth-degree obesity.
Which Stage of BMI is Morbidly Obese?
Individuals with a BMI over 30 are considered obese. However, people at this stage are usually treated with weight loss programs including exercise schedules and physical activity.
Those who have a BMI over 35 are considered morbidly obese and require serious treatment.
Even though the number resulted by the calculation of the body mass index shows whether the person is obese or not, it does not certainly indicate your health status, but only the predictable findings.
Definition of Morbid Obese
If the person’s body weight is 35 to 45 kilograms more than the ideal weight, the person is morbidly obese. To align the definition with BMI, people with a BMI between 35 and 40 are in the morbidly obese group.
After the diagnosis of morbid obesity, other weight-related diseases are also detected in the patient.
Diseases Caused by Morbid Obesity
- Lung diseases such as asthma, sleep apnea, hypoventilation syndrome may develop due to obesity.
- Heart diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attack due to high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis
- Internal organ diseases such as recurrent heartburn, fatty liver, and gallbladder diseases
- Endocrine: Type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hirsutism diseases
- Musculoskeletal system diseases, especially degeneration in knees and hips, chronic non-surgical low back pain, disc herniation due to excessive load on the skeleton
- Cancer rate increases and different infections may be encountered in the skin fold areas.
- Urinary tract infections, stress, menstrual irregularity, urinary incontinence, and frequency may develop depending on weight.
Morbid Obesity Treatment Types
Different treatment methods are applied to people diagnosed as obese, depending on their obesity level. Frequently preferred morbid obesity treatment types:
- Gastric band: The stomach is divided into two parts by a silicone ring. Thus, the volume of the stomach is reduced.
- Gastric Bypass: A type of bariatric surgery that both reduces the size of your stomach and brings about changes in your digestive system and hormones
- Gastric sleeve; The stomach is reshaped in the form of a sleeve. As a result, a feeling of fullness is provided in a short time.
How High Should Be My BMI for the Surgery?
The most common types of surgery in the treatments of morbid obesity are gastric sleeve and gastric bypass surgery. To be eligible for these procedures, you should have a BMI of less than 40. If your BMI value is 40 and above, the surgery might be riskier than usual.
