Physical Injury From Overweight

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.

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Zinn Jeremiah is a freelance writer who writes on different
topics. To get help with weight loss, visit
http://www.hubonline.biz/lose-now.htm or
http://www.hubonline.biz/get-fit.htm .