Skip to main content
        
        U.S. flag
                An official website of the United States government
                    Here’s how you know
                Here’s how you know**Official websites use .gov**
                        
                        A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
            **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                        
                        A **lock** (
                        Locked padlock icon
                        ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.Search
    Menu

        Search for Information from NIDDK
            
            Entire Site
                Research & Funding
                Health Information
                News
                About NIDDKSearch

Home
            Research & Funding
                                Expand Research & Funding
                                Current Funding Opportunities
                                                    Research Programs & Contacts
                                                    Human Subjects Research
                                                    Funding Process
                                            Research Training & Career Development
                                                    Funded Grants & Grant History
                                                    Research Resources
                                            Research at NIDDK
                                                    Technology Advancement & Transfer
                                                    Meetings & Workshops
                        Health Information
                                Expand Health Information
                                Health Topics
                                                                                                    Diabetes
                                                    Digestive Diseases
                                                    Kidney Disease
                                                    Weight Management
                                                    Liver Disease
                                                    Urologic Diseases
                                                    Endocrine Diseases
                                                    Diet & Nutrition
                                                    Blood Diseases
                                                    Diagnostic Tests
                                            La información de la salud en español
                                                    Health Statistics
                                                    Healthy Moments Radio Broadcast
                                                    Clinical Trials
                                            For Health Professionals
                                                    Diabetes Discoveries & Practice Blog
                                                    Community Health & Outreach
                        News
                                Expand News
                                News Archive
                                                    For Reporters
                                            Meetings & Workshops
                                                    Media Library
                                            Follow Us
                        About NIDDK
                                Expand About NIDDK
                                Meet the Director
                                                    Offices & Divisions
                                                    Staff Directory
                                                    Budget & Legislative Information
                                            Advisory & Coordinating Committees
                                                    Strategic Plans & Reports
                                                    Research Areas
                                                    FAQs
                                            Jobs at NIDDK
                                                    Visit Us
                                                    Contact Us Home
                    Health Information
                    Weight Management
                    Understanding Adult Overweight & Obesity
                    Health Risks

    Related Topics
    English
        English
                Español
        Understanding Adult Overweight & Obesity
        Definition & Facts
                Factors Affecting Weight & Health
                Am I at a Healthy Weight?
                Health Risks
                Eating & Physical Activity
                Treatment
                Clinical TrialsHealth Risks of Overweight & Obesity
**In this section:**
Type 2 diabetes
    High blood pressure
    Heart disease
    Stroke
    Metabolic syndrome
    Fatty liver diseases
    Some cancers
    Breathing problems
    Osteoarthritis
    Gout
    Diseases of the gallbladder and pancreas
    Kidney disease
    Pregnancy problems
    Fertility problems
    Sexual function problems
    Mental health problemsOverweight and obesity may increase your risk for many health problems—especially if you carry extra fat around your waist. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight can help prevent these problems, stop them from getting worse, or even make them go away.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes  is a disease that occurs when yourblood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Nearly 9 in 10 people with type 2 diabetes have overweight or obesity.12Over time, high blood glucose can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye problems, nerve damage, and other health problems.
If you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you may be able to prevent or delay diabetes by losing at least 5% to 7% of your starting weight.13,14 For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, your goal would be to lose about 10 to 14 pounds.

High blood pressure
A health care professional checks the blood pressure of a woman sitting in a medical office.Overweight and obesity may raise your risk for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a condition in which blood flows through your blood vessels with a force greater than normal. Having a large body size may increase blood pressure because your heart needs to pump harder to supply blood to all your cells. Excess fat may also damage your kidneys, which help regulate blood pressure.
High blood pressure can strain your heart, damage blood vessels, and raise your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and death.10 Losing enough weight to reach a healthy body mass index range may lower high blood pressure and prevent or control related health problems.
Heart disease
Heart disease  is a term used to describe several health problems that affect your heart, such as a heart attack, heart failure, angina, or an abnormal heart rhythm. Having overweight or obesity increases your risk of developing conditions that can lead to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and high blood glucose. In addition, excess weight can also make your heart have to work harder to send blood to all the cells in your body. Losing excess weight may help you lower these risk factors for heart disease.
Stroke
A stroke  happens when a blood vessel in your brain or neck is blocked or bursts, cutting off blood flow to a part of your brain. A stroke can damage brain tissue and make you unable to speak or move parts of your body.
Overweight and obesity are known to increase blood pressure—and high blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes. Losing weight may help you lower your blood pressure and other risk factors for stroke, including high blood glucose and high blood cholesterol.
Metabolic syndrome
Metabolic syndrome  is a group of conditions that increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, you must have at least three of the following conditions
large waist size
    high level of triglycerides  in your blood
    high blood pressure
    high level of blood glucose when fasting
    low level of HDL cholesterol —the “good” cholesterol—in your bloodMetabolic syndrome is closely linked to overweight and obesity and to a lack of physical activity. Healthy lifestyle changes that help you control your weight may help you prevent and reduce metabolic syndrome.
Fatty liver diseases
Fatty liver diseases develop when fat builds up in your liver, which can lead to severe liver damage, cirrhosis, or even liver failure. These diseases include nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
NAFLD and NASH most often affect people who have overweight or obesity. People who have insulin resistance, unhealthy levels of fat in the blood, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and certain genes can also develop NAFLD and NASH.
If you have overweight or obesity, losing at least 3% to 5% of your body weight may reduce fat in the liver.15
Some cancers
Cancer  is a collection of related diseases. In all types of cancer, some of the body’s cells begin to grow abnormally or out of control. The cancerous cells sometimes spread to other parts of the body.
Overweight and obesity may raise your risk of developing certain types of cancer. Men with overweight or obesity are at a higher risk for developing cancers of the colon, rectum, and prostate.10 Among women with overweight or obesity, cancers of the breast, lining of the uterus, and gallbladder  are more common.
Illustration of a human torso, with labels showing the different types of cancer associated with overweight and obesity. These cancers are: thyroid, breast (postmenopausal women), liver, gallbladder, upper stomach, pancreas, colon and rectum, ovary, endometrium (cancer in the tissue lining the uterus), kidney, multiple myeloma (cancer of blood cells), adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, and meningioma (cancer in the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord).Overweight and obesity may increase risk of developing many types of cancer.
Adults who gain less weight as they get older have lower risks of many types of cancer, including colon, kidney, breast, and ovarian cancers.16
Breathing problems
Overweight and obesity can also affect how well your lungs work, and excess weight increases your risk for breathing problems.17
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea  is a common problem that can happen while you are sleeping. If you have sleep apnea, your upper airway becomes blocked, causing you to breathe irregularly or even stop breathing altogether for short periods of time. Untreated sleep apnea may raise your risk for developing many health problems, including heart disease  and diabetes.
Obesity is a common cause of sleep apnea in adults.18 If you have overweight or obesity, you may have more fat stored around your neck, making the airway smaller. A smaller airway can make breathing difficult or cause snoring. If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight may help reduce sleep apnea or make it go away.
Asthma
Asthma  is a chronic, or long-term, condition that affects the airways in your lungs. The airways are tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the airways can become inflamed and narrow at times. You may wheeze, cough, or feel tightness in your chest.
Obesity can increase your risk of developing asthma, experiencing worse symptoms, and having a harder time managing the condition.19Losing weight can make it easier for you to manage your asthma. For people who have severe obesity, weight-loss surgery—also called metabolic and bariatric surgery—may improve asthma symptoms.17
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis  is a common, long-lasting health problem that causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and reduced motion in your joints. Obesity is a leading risk factor for osteoarthritis in the knees, hips, and ankles.20
Having overweight or obesity may raise your risk of getting osteoarthritis by putting extra pressure on your joints and cartilage. If you have excess body fat, your blood may have higher levels of substances that cause inflammation. Inflamed joints may raise your risk for osteoarthritis.
Person sitting in a wheelchair and holding one knee with both hands.Having overweight or obesity may raise your risk of getting osteoarthritis in your knees.
If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight may decrease stress on your knees, hips, and lower back and lessen inflammation in your body. If you have osteoarthritis, losing weight may improve your symptoms. Research shows that exercise is one of the best treatments for osteoarthritis. Exercise can improve mood, decrease pain, and increase flexibility.
Gout
Gout  is a kind of arthritis  that causes pain and swelling in your joints. Gout develops when crystals made of a substance called uric acid build up in your joints. Risk factors include having obesity, being male, having high blood pressure, and eating foods high in purines.21 These foods include red meat, liver, and anchovies.
Gout is treated mainly with medicines. Losing weight may also help prevent and treat gout.22
Diseases of the gallbladder and pancreas
Overweight and obesity may raise your risk of getting gallbladder diseases, such as gallstones and cholecystitis. People who have obesity may have higher levels of cholesterol in their bile, which can cause gallstones. They may also have a large gallbladder that does not work well.
Having a large amount of fat around your waist may raise your risk for developing gallstones. But losing weight quickly also increases your risk. If you have obesity, talk with your health care professional about how to lose weight safely.
Obesity can also affect your pancreas, a large gland behind your stomach that makes insulin and enzymes to help you digest food. People who have obesity have a higher risk of developing inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreatitis. High levels of fat in your blood can also raise your risk of having pancreatitis. You can lower your chances of getting pancreatitis by sticking with a low-fat, healthy eating plan.
Kidney disease
Kidney disease means your kidneys are damaged and can’t filter your blood as they should. Obesity raises the risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure, which are the most common causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Even if you don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure, having obesity may increase your risk of developing CKD and speed up its progress.23
If you have overweight or obesity, losing weight may help you prevent or delay CKD. If you are in the early stages of CKD, consuming healthy foods and beverages, being active, and losing excess weight may slow the progress of the disease and keep your kidneys healthier longer.24
Pregnancy problems
Pregnant woman walking with a jacket draped over her shoulder.Overweight and obesity raise the risk of developing health problems that can affect the pregnancy and the baby’s health.
Overweight and obesity raise the risk of developing health problems during pregnancy that can affect the pregnancy and the baby’s health. Pregnant people who have obesity may have a greater chance of10
developing gestational diabetes, or diabetes that occurs during pregnancy
    having preeclampsia, or high blood pressure  during pregnancy, which can cause severe health problems for the pregnant person and baby if left untreated
    needing a caesarean delivery—or c-section—and, as a result, taking longer to recover after giving birth
    having complications from surgery and anesthesia, especially if they have severe obesity
    gaining more weight or continuing to have overweight or obesity after the baby is bornHaving obesity or gaining too much weight during pregnancy can also increase health risks for the baby, including25
being born larger than expected based on the sex of the baby or the duration of the pregnancy
    developing chronic diseases as adults, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and asthmaTalk with your health care professional about how to
reach a healthy weight before pregnancy
    gain a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy
    safely lose weight after your baby is bornFertility problems
Obesity increases the risk of developing infertility. Infertility in women means not being able to get pregnant after a year of trying, or getting pregnant but not being able to carry a pregnancy to term. For men, it means not being able to get a woman pregnant.26
Obesity is linked to lower sperm count and sperm quality in men.27 In women, obesity is linked to problems with the menstrual cycle  and ovulation.26 Obesity can also make it harder to become pregnant with the help of certain infertility treatments or procedures.26
Women with obesity who lose 5% of their body weight may increase their chances of having regular menstrual periods, ovulating, and becoming pregnant.28
Sexual function problems
Obesity may also increase the risk of developing sexual function problems.29Having overweight or obesity increase the risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED), a condition in which males are unable to get or keep an erection firm enough for satisfactory sexual intercourse.
Few studies have looked at how obesity may affect female sexual function by contributing to problems such as loss of sexual desire, being unable to become or stay aroused, being unable to have an orgasm, or having pain during sex.30 But research suggests that healthy eating, increased physical activity, and weight loss may help reduce sexual function problems in people with obesity.29,30
Mental health problems
In addition to increasing the risk for developing physical health problems, obesity can also affect mental health, increasing the risk for developing31
long-term stress
    body image problems
    low self-esteem
    depression
    eating disordersStudies show that people with overweight or obesity are also likely to face weight-related bias at school and work, which may cause long-term harm to their quality of life.31 Losing excess weight has been found to improve body image and self-esteem and reduce symptoms of depression.32
References
[10] Bray GA, Heisel WE, Afshin A, et al. The science of obesity management: an Endocrine Society scientific statement. *Endocrine Reviews*. 2018;39(2):79–132. doi:10.1210/er.2017-00253
[12] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. *National diabetes statistics report 2020: estimates of diabetes and its burden in the United States*. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2020. www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf (PDF; 768 KB)
[13] Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Long-term effects of lifestyle intervention or metformin on diabetes development and microvascular complications over 15-year follow-up: the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study. *The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology*. 2015;3(11):866–875. doi:10.1016/s2213-8587(15)00291-0
[14] Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. *New England Journal of Medicine*. 2002;346(6):393–403. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa012512
[15] Chalasani N, Younossi Z, Lavine JE, et al. The diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: practice guidance from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. *Hepatology*. 2018;67(1):328–357. doi:10.1002/hep.29367
[16] Keum N, Greenwood DC, Lee DH, et al. Adult weight gain and adiposity-related cancers: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. *Journal of the National Cancer Institute*. 2015;107(2).doi:10.1093/jnci/djv088
[17] Brock JM, Billeter A, Muller-Stich BP, Herth F. Obesity and the lung: what we know today. *Respiration*. 2020;99(10):856–866. doi:10.1159/000509735
[18] Tserenpil G, Gebre M, Zergham AS, Sekhon AK, Malik BH. Managements for obstructive sleep apnea in adults: review. *Cureus*. 2020;12(8):e9905. doi:10.7759/cureus.9905
[19] Mohanan S, Tapp H, McWilliams A, Dulin M. Obesity and asthma: pathophysiology and implications for diagnosis and management in primary care. *Experimental Biology and Medicine*. 2014;239(11):1531–1540. doi:10.1177/1535370214525302
[20] Molina J, Morgan EL. Obesity and orthopedic issues. *StatPearls [Internet]*. StatPearls Publishing; 2021. Accessed January 19, 2022. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK572101
[21] Clebak KT, Morrison A, Croad JR. Gout: rapid evidence review. *American Family Physician*. 2020;102(9):533–538.
[22] Danve A, Sehra ST, Neogi T. Role of diet in hyperuricemia and gout. *Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology*. 2021;35(4):101723. doi:10.1016/j.berh.2021.101723
[23] Kovesdy CP, Furth SL, Zoccali C. Obesity and kidney disease: hidden consequences of the epidemic. *Canadian Journal of Kidney Health and Disease*. 2017;4:2054358117698669. doi:10.1177/2054358117698669
[24] Kotsis V, Martinez F, Trakatelli C, Redon J. Impact of obesity in kidney diseases. *Nutrients*. 2021;13(12):4482. doi:10.3390/nu13124482
[25] Godfrey KM, Reynolds RM, Prescott SL, et al. Influence of maternal obesity on the long-term health of offspring. *Lancet Diabetes Endocrinology*. 2017;5(1):53–64. doi:10.1016/s2213-8587(16)30107-3
[26] Practice Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Obesity and reproduction: a committee opinion. *Fertility and Sterility*. 2021;116(5):1266–1285. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.08.018
[27] Salas-Huetos A, Maghsoumi-Norouzabad L, James ER, et al. Male adiposity, sperm parameters and reproductive hormones: an updated systematic review and collaborative meta-analysis. *Obesity Reviews*. 2021;22(1):e13082. doi:10.1111/obr.13082
[28] Silvestris E, de Pergola G, Rosania R, Loverro G. Obesity as disruptor of the female fertility. *Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology*. 2018;16(1):22. doi:10.1186/s12958-018-0336-z
[29] Maiorino M, Bellastella G, Giugliano D, Esposito K. From inflammation to sexual dysfunctions: a journey through diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. *Journal of Endocrinological Investigation*. 2018;41(11):1249–1258. doi:10.1007/s40618-018-0872-6
[30] Esfahani SB, Pal S. Obesity, mental health, and sexual dysfunction: a critical review. *Health Psychology Open*. 2018;5(2):2055102918786867. doi:10.1177/2055102918786867
[31] Chu DT, Minh Nguyet NT, Nga VT, et al. An update on obesity: mental consequences and psychological interventions. *Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome*. 2019;13(1):155–160. doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2018.07.015
[32] Wadden TA, Tronieri JS, Butryn ML. Lifestyle modification approaches for the treatment of obesity in adults. *American Psychologist*. 2020;75(2):235–251. doi:10.1037/amp0000517        Last Reviewed May 2023
Sharethis page

Print
    Facebook
    X
    Email
    
    More Options
    
    WhatsApp
    LinkedIn
    Reddit
    Pinterest
    
    Copy Link
                *Previous:*
                Am I at a Healthy Weight?
            *Next:*
                Eating & Physical Activity

                This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. Content produced by NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts. Contact Us
**Hours:** 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday**Email:** healthinfo@niddk.nih.gov**Phone:** +1-800-860-8747**TTY:** +711
Chat
Live Chat Available8:30 a.m - 5 p.m. ETMonday - Friday
Follow Us
LinkedIn
X
Facebook
YouTube
InstagramNIH... Turning Discovery Into Health ®
Privacy Policy
    Freedom of Information Act
    Accessibility
    Disclaimers
    Copyright
    Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
Site Map
    For Staff Only
    Get Email Updates
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    National Institutes of Health