Can obesity cause health problems?
Yes. According to the National Institutes of Health, 280,000 adult deaths each year in the U.S. are related to obesity. People who are overweight or obese have an increased health risk for chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke and heart disease. Does obesity increase your risk for diabetes? Yes. Obesity has been directly linked to the growing number of cases of Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for more than 90 percent of all cases. As diabetes is the number one cause of chronic kidney disease, obesity is also an important factor in chronic kidney disease. Type 2 diabetes has been increasing in all groups, but especially among African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and American Indians. This is due in large part to the growing number of obese people in these communities. Type 2 diabetes used to occur mostly in individuals over 45. Now, the disease is becoming more common in you
