Link Found Between Severe Obesity And Numerous Chronic Diseases Among African-American Women

INDIANAPOLIS-- A recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed a strong correlation between the severity of obesity and the likelihood of chronic disease. The study found that being moderately obese did not increase the likelihood of chronic disease while being severely obese increased the odds of chronic disease significantly.

Studying data from 1,150 African-American women, the authors of the study also reported that the high rates of mobility difficulty observed among the severely obese appear to be a result of the relatively high chronic disease prevalence and severity. Authors Daniel O. Clark, a medical sociologist at the Regenstrief Institute for Health Care and assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and Simon M. Mungai, MP a research assistant at the Regenstrief Institute for Health Care also noted increased pain in the severely obese.

"Obesity prevalence continues to increase in the U.S. and it is most prevalent among African-American women. Whether moderate obesity affects quality of life can be and is debated, but there is little doubt that severe obesity has a substantial negative consequence for health, function, and quality of life among African-American women," said Dr. Clark.

In this group of women, those who were severely obese were 3 times more likely to have diabetes, 1.5 times more likely to suffer from cardiopulmonary disease, 2.5 times more likely to have cancer, 1.6 times more likely to have hypertension, 2.5 times more likely to have heart disease, 2.5 times more likely to have heart disease, 2.5 times more likely to suffer congestive heart failure, and 1.5 times more likely to have arthritis than all females in the general population.

Rates of severe obesity are nearly two times greater among African-American women than among white females. Chronic disease prevalence is generally much higher as well. Even in comparison to African-American women of moderate weight, the severely obese African-American women were at significantly greater risk of chronic disease. Hypertension was 1.5 times more prevalent within the very high category in comparison with the medium body weight category. Diabetes was two times more prevalent, heart disease 1.9 times more prevalent and arthritis 1.6 times more prevalent among those who were severely obese. Interestingly, despite being one-third less likely to currently smoke thatn those in the medium body weight category, those in the very highest body weight category were nearly 1.5 times more likely to report having been told that they have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma.

Nationwide, a majority of African-American women over the age of 50 are obese. They have at least one chronic disease and experience mobility difficulty. Previous studies have shown that obesity elevates the risk of severity of osteoarthritis of the knee in all women by increasing the mechanical stress that is placed on the knee.

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