 Health Guide
What overweight does to our organs
by Mohamed Obarre
The normal body contains certain amount of fat in its tissues.
But it is the excess that causes the trouble. This extra fat is deposited in
certain parts of the body; for instance, just beneath the skin. A fat person has
fewer wrinkles than a lean one. Excess fat is deposited also in the supporting
tissues within the abdomen, in the loose tissue around the kidneys, and the
surface layer of the heart.
The excess layer of fat on the surface the heart muscles
perform more work than usual. The extra fat rides as a non-paying passenger.
Extra fat is living tissue, even though unnecessary. Therefore
it has to be supplied with blood like any other tissue. An increase in body fat
requires a corresponding increase in the number of capillaries to supply this
fat with blood. Some one has estimated that every pound of body fat calls for
another two third of a mile of new blood though this extra system of vessels.
This increases the heart’s work.
With extra fat and thus extra weight, the muscles must work
harder to move the body about. Obviously it takes more work to move a 200-pound
man up a flight of stairs than to move a 150-pound man. This additional activity
of the skeletal muscles also adds to the workload of the heart.
Overweight interferes with the function of the lungs and with
the process of providing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide. In response the
blood-forming tissue build red blood cells than are normally needed.
The liver suffers also. Part of its task is to care for the
chemical substances the body needs. The liver is particularly involved in the
processing of fat before it is stored, and in the continuous work of
conditioning the store of fat once they have been deposited. When body weight
becomes excessive additional work is placed upon the liver.
The kidneys are usually the last of the vital organs to show
adverse effects from overweight. It stands to reason however that more tissue
the body contains, the greater the task of eliminating waste. Thus it is not
surprising that when kidney disease develops the overweight person is
particularly handicapped.
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