 Excess fat can hinder medical diagnoses
During a recent checkup, I was reminded of yet another difficulty that obesity creates: difficulty in finding, diagnosing and treating medical problems.
Part of any routine medical exam consists of that annoying, but necessary, poking and prodding we endure. The doctor is feeling around our "insides" to determine if there are problems.
Common sense dictates that if there is a significant excess of fat in the way, it becomes more difficult, if not impossible, for the doctor to feel anything at all.
And even with all of the high-tech diagnostic equipment available today, the fat still gets in the way. Ultrasounds, X-rays, and other equipment have difficulty creating clear images in excess fat situations.
And for the severely morbidly obese, sadly a growing population, some equipment is not physically large enough to accommodate their size.
If you do happen to be diagnosed with an issue, the excess fat creates difficulty in treatment as well. Surgery becomes riskier. Recovery is more challenging.
To make matters worse, these are the very people who are most likely to have issues that need to be found and treated. Obesity taxes every organ in our bodies. Excess fat, sugar and sodium running through blood breaks down arterial walls, the superhighway that runs throughout our bodies. No part of us, inside or out, is exempt from the effects of obesity.
Rather than allowing these thoughts to scare you, allow them to motivate you. Allow the images to come to mind when you are tempted by goodies, when you plan your family meals, when you think about being there for your children, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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