General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The real reason being overweight is bad for your health: [View all]Aristus
(66,316 posts)Like hypertension, or diabetes.
Obesity exacerbates diabetes, especially for anyone in whom obesity manifests as central adiposity - carrying the majority of the excess weight in the lower abdomen. Adipose tissue secretes a hormone called resistin, which, as the name suggests, increases insulin resistance in target cells, cells that use glucose for energy. Even tiny amounts of adipose tissue secret resistin, but if a person has a low body-fat measurement, the presence of resistin is clinically insignificant. But in the aggregate, as with obese patients, the levels of resistin can worsen already existing diabetes.
The focus of my practice is primarily internal medicine. But obesity can contribute to, and exacerbate, musculoskeletal complaints, too.