Family Tune - Women and Obesity

Obesity plays a significant role in causing poor health in women, negatively affecting quality of life and shortening quantity of life. More than half of adult U.S. women are overweight, and more than one-third are obese. The life expectancy of women in the U.S. is approaching 80 years of age, and more women than ever are expected to turn 65 in the second decade of the new millennium. Prevention and early treatment of obesity are crucial to ensuring a healthy population of women of all ages

Arthritis

Women with obesity have almost four times the risk of osteoarthritis as non-obese women.
A stronger association between osteoarthritis and obesity has been observed in women than in men.

Birth Defects

Maternal obesity (BMI > 29) has been associated with an increased incidence of neural tube defects (NTD) in several studies, although variable results have been found in this area.
Folate intake, which decreases the risk of NTD, was found in one study to have a reduced effect with higher pre-pregnancy weight.

Breast Cancer

After menopause, women with obesity have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. In addition, weight gain after menopause may also increase breast cancer risk.
Women who gain about 45 pounds or more after age 18 are twice as likely to develop breast cancer after menopause than women with no weight gain.
Before menopause, high BMI has been associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer. However, a recent study found an increased risk of the most lethal form of breast cancer, called inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), in women with BMI as low as 26.7 regardless of menopausal status.
Before menopause, women who are overweight and have breast cancer appear to have a shorter life span than women with lower BMI.

Endometrial Cancer (EC)

Women with obesity have three to four times the risk of EC than women with lower BMI.
An estimated 34 to 56 percent of EC risk can be attributed to overweight.
Body size is a risk factor for EC regardless of where fat is distributed in the body. Women with obesity and diabetes have a 3-fold increase in risk for EC above the risk of obesity alone.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

In middle and older age groups, heavier weight is associated with CVD and its risk factors, particularly for women.

Gallbladder Disease

Obesity is the best-established predictor of gallbladder disease in women.
Women with obesity have at least twice the risk of gallstone disease than women of normal weight.

Infertility

Obesity has been found to affect ovulation, response to fertility treatment, pregnancy rates and pregnancy outcome.
Infertile women with obesity who lose weight have shown improvement in becoming pregnant and reaching full term.

Obstetric & Gynecological Complications

In addition to infertility, excess body fat can lead to complications such as menstrual abnormality, miscarriage and difficulties in performing assisted reproduction.
The frequency of menstrual disturbance in women with severe obesity is three times greater than for women of normal weight.
High pre-pregnancy weight is associated with an increased risk of pregnancy hypertension, gestational diabetes, urinary infection, Cesarean section delivery and toxemia.
Women with obesity are 13 times more likely to have overdue births, longer labors, induced labor and blood loss.
Complications after childbirth, related to obesity, include an increased risk of wound and endometrial infection, endometritis and urinary tract infection.

Urinary Stress Incontinence

Obesity is a well-documented risk factor for the involuntary loss of urine as well as urgency.
Obesity has been found to be a strong risk factor for women of several urinary symptoms after childbirth.

Stigma & Discrimination

Women with obesity appear to have much more prejudice and discrimination directed against them than men with obesity.
Obesity contributes to unemployment for women. After undergoing surgery to reduce obesity, a drop in unemployment rate from 84 to 64 percent was reported for women.
Women with obesity face significant barriers in establishing and maintaining social relationships in a society that emphasizes thinness as physical attractiveness.
Women with obesity have reported attending fewer years of college and receiving less financial support for higher education than women who are non-obese.