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Physical Injury From Overweight

By Zinn Jeremiah

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 12Aug2007
Word count: 494
Viewed: 345 time(s)

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Warnings about being overweight often focus on the potential damage overweight can cause to the body's internal organs. It's an approach that makes a terrific amount of sense. Being overweight, after all, can potentially cause damage to the heart, arteries, colon, even the brain, and other internal organs besides. But an important issue that's sometimes overlooked is the damage overweight can potentially cause to the external body.

Carrying excess weight can cause damage to a number of the body's external parts. The feet are one example. One's feet often take a pounding as it is. For those of us who are typically mobile, the feet represent a regular form of transportation. Even with automobiles and elevators and escalators and the like, the feet are still in frequent daily use, moving us about once we've gotten out of our car, or off the elevator or the escalator.

When surplus weight is added to the feet in the form of excessive body mass, the results can be legitimately debilitating. The ligaments and muscles of the feet can be quickly overworked under excess body weight, and strains and even tears can result. The bones in the feet can also be overworked, with a potential outcome of extremely painful bone stress fractures. And, of course, the feet pounding about under extra weight can lead to generally sore feet. Like most other things, we may not appreciate the vital role our feet play for us -- until they've been compromised and have lost some of their use.

When standing or walking about, the full weight of the body is typically on the feet. While the legs don't support quite as much weight as the feet usually do, and with two legs for extra support besides, the legs most certainly can present damage from helping to carry an overweight physique. The shins and knees both can wear down with stress injuries from carrying too much weight. A weight bearing injury to the shins or the knees would likely require some lessening of weight burden -- or the endurance of a tremendous amount of pain -- essentially stopping, for a while at least, natural mobility. Then what?

Moving about naturally while carrying excess weight is burdensome enough. How difficult would it be for someone overweight to try to get around with crutches because of a weight burden injury? The answer is it would be exceptionally difficult. Would a wheelchair be a better option? Maybe, but getting about in a wheelchair -- attempting to navigate a world mostly built for mobile people from a fairly immobile position -- can be extremely difficult, not to mention quite frustrating. There's also the issue of immobility slowing down physical activity, which could cause someone overweight to become even heavier.

It's potentially a terrible loop to get caught in, and it underscores why the possible physical toll on one's body is just one more reason to shed excess body weight.

Zinn Jeremiah is an online author who writes about various subject matter. For weight loss help, visit weight loss program or weight loss help.

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