9781422288450

Cindy is only twenty-five, but she feels eighty. Her joints ache, especially her hips and knees. On bad days, just walking can be difficult, let alone going up and down stairs. Your twenties aren’t supposed to feel this way , she despairs. I’m still young, so why does my body feel so old? On top of her aches and pains, Cindy experiences frequent daytime sleepiness. In fact, she feels tired all the time. Maybe I’m not sleeping well and just don’t remember it, she considers. Or maybe something’s really wrong . Cindy is extremely concerned about her symptoms and what they might mean for her health, but she’s blind to her overall fitness. Her BMI is thirty- two—technically obese—and she’s sporting an extra thirty pounds. Plus her once-active lifestyle has become largely sedentary. No wonder her joints hurt! If you were in Cindy’s situation, your joints would probably hurt too. Carrying that much extra weight makes Cindy’s knees pinch and throb when she walks or runs, so any unnecessary activity is out. (Her motto is: Avoid pain at all costs!) But by limiting her activity, Cindy is compounding her weight troubles. With every added pound, her knees hurt even more, and with each additional stab of pain, she moves less. With every decrease in activity, her weight increases, and the cycle continues. Cindy’s situation is not uncommon. By deceiving herself (or being in gen- uine ignorance about her situation) she fails to acknowledge that the extra load she’s carrying could explain her aches and exhaustion. Her first symp- tom, aching joints, is due to a condition called osteoarthritis. Her exhaustion is due to a condition called sleep apnea.

Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis, also called “degenerative joint dis- ease,” is the most common joint disorder. It occurs when cartilage, the slippery, cushioning material that covers the ends of bones in a joint, breaks down (or degenerates). Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide

70 / Health Issues Caused by Obesity