Obesity is an unnatural occurrence. The human body is not designed to handle excessive weights. There are many health situations that occur because of overweight and obesity.

Obesity in the body hampers natural functioning of all the systems. There is extra burden on all the systems of the body. There is an excess burden on the heart to pump blood to all the extremities of the body. The arteries and veins get clogged due to deposits of fats in them and so the process of blood circulation gets further hampered. Central obesity or the obesity in the middle part of the body due to excess waist girth is prime factor for all cardio vascular disorders.

Other related diseases that develop because of obesity are diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, raised triglyceride levels, atherosclerosis, where the arteries get fatty lumps on their walls and prothrombotic state, which is an intense manifestation of inflammation in the circulatory system. All these diseases form a cluster of diseases called metabolic syndrome, which is a predominant feature of being overweight and obesity.

Apart from cardiovascular diseases the endocrinal disorders that are predominant with overweight and obesity in women are polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), menstrual problems and fertility disorders. In both genders the gastro-intestinal disorders caused because of excessive weight conditions are gastro-esophageal reflux disease, fatty liver disease, cholelithiasis or stones in gall bladder, hernia and colorectal cancer.

The disorders of the kidneys and excretory system and genitourinary system that mainly manifest are urinary incontinence, shrinkage of reproductive organs in males and breast cancer, uterine cancer and still births in females. The females also develop stretch marks and cellulite deposits generally after pregnancy and child birth because of excessive fatty deposits.

The musculo-skeletal system also suffers a lot of disorders because of overweight and obesity like predisposition to gout and other forms of arthritis including osteoarthritis and vascular arthritis. The vertebral column also faces a lot of stress; low back pain that is so predominantly seen these days is mainly a result of excessive weight and resultant bad posture. Other dysfunctional situations in the spine are also a result of excess weight borne by the vertebral column. Such occurrence also makes the vertebral column weak and more susceptible to injuries.

There are many neurological disorders also attached with being overweight and obese. People become very prone to strokes, dementia, migraines and other headaches. The nervous disorder of meralgia paresthetica is also very predominant. This is a disorder of femur nerves. It causes pain and tingling sensations in the thighs.

The respiratory disorders that are frequently caused because of excessive weight conditions are dyspnea, which is difficult and laboured breathing; and obstructive sleep apnea, which is a state of uncomfortable breathing while sleeping. Other respiratory disorders are hypoventilation, asthma and Pickwickian syndrome named after a character from Charles Dickens' literature. This character is excessively obese and cannot remain awake during the day time. This disease also signifies respiratory inflammation, gasping for breath, laboured breathing and an excessive tendency to succumb to sleeping during the day.

Apart from some of the disorders of the various systems that are mentioned here there are numerous other diseases that can be linked directly or indirectly to overweight and obesity. This is because all the systems of the body are under tremendous pressure and can retaliate at any point in time.

There are great psychological and emotional repercussions attached with being overweight and obese. They have their roots in many social motives also. The society teaches us that a certain form of human existence is attractive and acceptable. Media plays an important role in creating images in any society. Obese people are seen having very low self esteem, face a lot of social stigmatization and suffer with many dysmorphic disorders.

Yoga for Weight Loss

Yoga for weight loss is extremely helpful in maintaining the ideal body weight. Practice of yoga asana is aimed at maintaining an optimum balance between the system and external environment in which a human being dwells. These include all interactions that happen between the human system and his environment. Daily practice of yoga exercises keeps all the faculties, both mental and physical of the human system perfectly coordinated so that a person does not reach the stage of obesity. Also if a person is already overweight and obese there is still hope if he consistently follows the practices of yoga asanas, which undoubtedly would help in the long run.

Many people, in their ignorance consider yoga to be just an exercise program akin to many other programs. Yoga is an ancient methodology for coordination of mind and body where body is used as tool to reach the divine. It is a medium for ultimately merging the existential into the sublime. Besides helping in losing excessive weight, yoga keeps all the systems of the body functioning at their optimum levels. So practicing yoga or yoga exercises leads an individual to healthy existence coupled with great chances at longevity.