Medical Implications

Being overweight has many negative implications. The most serious consequence is the increased risk of illness and death with increasing severity of obesity.

Morbid Obesity is associated with an increased risk of death and a multitude of health problems which can all be improved or even cured after weight loss. Statistics show that you are not alone. Obesity is an epidemic in the U.S., affecting nearly 30% of Americans. Specifically, 2% of men and 6% of women are considered morbidly obese.

Over 300,000 deaths a year are caused from obesity-related illnesses. That is 3 times more than the number of people who die each year from beast cancer and colon cancer combined! Therefore , the need to lose weight is not simply cosmetic, but lifesaving.

Psychological Implications

Being severely obese also has serious psychological and social repercussions, such as: disapproval and lectures from family and friends, sneers and remarks from strangers, not wanting to go out in public because of being self-conscious and not being able to enjoy activities that most people take for granted like going to the movies because the seats are too small, or even taking an airline flight for vacation because the accommodations are too uncomfortable. All these experiences repeated everyday for years results in an understandable feeling of depression, anxiety and feelings of low self-esteem.

Social Implications

Due to the societal worship of "thinness" and the ignorance that most people have about the causes of obesity, it is not surprising that being overweight is still the target of great amount of discrimination. It doesn't matter what gender, race, religion or sexual preference you are, society maintains discrimination against a person's weight. The general societal belief that obesity is caused by a lack of self- discipline or moral weakness has propagated such behavior. More importantly, this applies to employment, where a job or a promotion is denied simply because of weight. Many scientific studies have been performed to prove this.

Morbid obesity is a chronic medical illness that is not recognized by most of the society and even many physicians. We strive to educate the medical and non-medical communities of the seriousness of this disease process and the need to bring change in the way it is viewed, as well as, the way it is treated.