The Connection Between Obesity and Nutritional Deficiencies

Author:

Posted:?May 15th, 2020

Categories:

Obesity

Weight Loss

?

Feeling full doesn’t necessarily mean you’re eating well. Learn more about the connection between obesity and nutritional deficiencies.?

?

When people think about malnutrition, they often envision someone who is extremely underweight. However, not getting enough to eat is only one picture of the problem. You can also experience malnutrition if you don’t eat enough of the right foods or can’t convert the foods you do eat into usable energy. As such, many people who suffer from?obesity?also have nutritional deficiencies.?

?

It’s therefore possible to be overweight and undernourished — in fact, it’s more likely than you think. Here’s what you need to know about the link between obesity and nutritional deficiencies.

?

How Obesity Can Lead to Nutritional Deficiencies?

?

It’s important to remember that calorie consumption does not equal nutrient absorption. People who struggle with obesity may consume more than the recommended amount of calories per day, but the majority of those calories aren’t from nutritional sources.

?

The difference between?simple and complex carbohydrates?is an excellent example of this. Both simple and complex carbohydrates contain chains of sugar molecules that are converted into energy, but simple carbohydrates have no nutritional value beyond that — that’s why they’re called “empty calories.” If your diet primarily consists of these empty calories — fast food, cakes, sodas, and dairy products — you’re probably not getting the vitamins and minerals you need.

?

There’s also a connection between obesity, nutritional deficiencies, and environment. Numerous studies have shown that people who are food insecure or live in “food deserts” are more likely to be overweight.?Food deserts?are areas, disproportionately home to low-income, Black, and Hispanic communities, where there’s little to no access to supermarkets that sell affordable and nutritious foods. As such, 23.5 million people in food deserts are forced to get most of their meals from fast food restaurants. These meals are typically high in calories but low in nutrients, which causes people to gain weight.?

?

What does malnourishment look like? The most common?vitamin deficiencies?among people with obesity are vitamins D, C, and B1. Vitamin D deficiency is by far the most prevalent, affecting at least 80 percent of people with obesity. Symptoms of low vitamin D include bone pain, muscle weakness, and increased risk of developing?cardiovascular disease?and certain?cancers. There’s also growing evidence that suggests vitamin D deficiency increases your likelihood of developing?type 2 diabetes, as vitamin D is a key to improving?insulin?resistance.???

?

How Bariatric Surgery Can Help

?

If you’re overweight and undernourished,?weight loss surgery?and the dietary changes that come with it can help reverse these issues. To?prepare?you for weight loss surgery, your bariatric surgeon and nutritionist will create a pre-surgery diet plan for you that is specially designed to get your body strong enough for surgery. This includes eating more fruits, vegetables, and healthy proteins and cutting out empty calories from your diet. This helps you replace some of the nutrients you’ve been lacking.?

You’ll start losing weight steadily after your surgery, and it’s very important to keep your body strong during this transitional period. Since your stomach will be smaller, you’ll be consuming less food, which makes it a little more challenging to get vital nutrients from your meals alone. To compensate for this, your nutritionist might instruct you to incorporate supplements into your diet. You should at least be taking a complete multivitamin, calcium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin C, and vitamin B12. Take your vitamins, eat well, and?exercise often, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving the leaner and healthier body of your dreams.

?

Lose Weight, Get Strong, Feel Better

?

For more information about?feeding your body?with the right foods before and after bariatric surgery,?contact?the weight loss specialists at Long Island Laparoscopic Doctors. We want you to look and feel good from the inside out — and that starts with adequate nutrition. In addition to walking you through your weight loss surgery options, our experienced team will offer advice on how to make sure each meal is packed with nutrients to keep you healthy.

?

?

?

?

Married men live longer; married women, not so much: Study

Published Jun 25, 2022? ?? Last updated Jun 25, 2022? ?? 2 minute read

?

Join the conversation

Happy senior couple having fun cooking together at home

Happy senior couple having fun cooking together at home Getty Images

For some people, marriage adds grey hairs, wrinkles and frown lines. For others, it adds extra life.

?

Story continues below

?

A new study looks at the association between marital status and mortality and determined that being unmarried “substantially increases the risk of death.”

?

The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that being married was associated with a 15% overall lower risk of death from all causes compared to those who are unmarried (defined as people who were single, separated but still married, divorced or widowed).

?

The researchers out of Japan’s National Cancer Center examined the medical records of half a million people in their 50s in Asia over 15 years and also determined that married couples had a 20% lower risk of dying from accidents, injuries and heart disease.

?

Previous studies largely centred on western populations leaving evidence in Asian populations “l(fā)imited.”

?

Story continues below

?

The team examined data of 623,140 people, who were an average age of 54 and were mostly (86.4%) married.

?

During the 15-year study, a total of 123,264 fatalities were recorded with most deaths resulting from cancer (41,362), cerebrovascular diseases (14,563) and respiratory diseases (13,583).

?

People with underlying conditions such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure were more likely to live longer if they were hitched.

?

When it came to heart disease, heart attacks and heart failure, 17% of singletons were more likely to die from a circulatory system disease, 19% had a greater risk of dying from an accident or injury, 14% had a higher risk of suffering from a respiratory disease such as lung disease or asthma, while 6% had an increased risk of dying from cancer.

?

Story continues below

?

That said, researchers noted several factors that could play a part in the correlation, such as people with lesser financial means who have underlying health conditions may not be considered marriage material.

?

Married men saw the biggest drops in mortality rates, with research pointing out that men who are tied down are less likely to take risks, get into accidents or consume alcohol and drugs.

?

The “protective effect” of marriage, where a partner encourages their spouse to seek medical treatment, could be a contributing factor, according to the study, as are better financial situations and healthier lifestyles.

?

Bad news for women, though, as a deep dive into the data revealed that their mortality benefited less if they were married.

?

Researchers said that could be due to domestic labour not being equally divided in Asian marriages, thus putting more stress on women which “may counteract the health benefits of marriage.”

?

The study also pointed out that unmarried women are more likely to have a job and have more money and access to better health.