Obesity
Obesity and Chronic Disease
The research relationships between obesity and chronic conditions, and why county correlations do not show individual causation.
Beginner explanation
Overweight and obesity can raise the risk of many health problems — especially when extra fat is carried around the waist. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight can help prevent these problems, stop them getting worse, or sometimes make them go away.[1]
CDC reports that many adults with obesity have other serious chronic diseases: for example, 58% of U.S. adults with obesity have high blood pressure, and about 23% have diabetes.[2]
Key definitions
- Metabolic syndrome
- A group of conditions — at least three of large waist size, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose and low HDL (“good”) cholesterol — that raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
- Insulin resistance
- When cells do not respond normally to insulin; linked to type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease.
Sources[1]
Condition characteristics
NIDDK lists health problems linked to overweight and obesity, including:[1]
- Type 2 diabetes — nearly 9 in 10 people with type 2 diabetes have overweight or obesity
- High blood pressure, heart disease and stroke
- Metabolic syndrome and fatty liver diseases
- Some cancers, such as colon, rectal and prostate cancer in men, and breast, uterine-lining and gallbladder cancer in women
- Breathing problems, including sleep apnea and asthma
- Osteoarthritis and gout
- Gallbladder and pancreas diseases, and kidney disease
Source[1]
Risk factors
Excess weight raises blood pressure partly because the heart must pump harder to supply the body, and excess fat may damage the kidneys, which help regulate blood pressure. High blood pressure is in turn the leading cause of stroke.[1]
Overweight and obesity also raise blood cholesterol and blood glucose, which are risk factors for heart disease.[1]
Prevention and public health context
Modest weight loss can matter. NIDDK reports that people at risk for type 2 diabetes may prevent or delay it by losing at least 5% to 7% of their starting weight — about 10 to 14 pounds for someone who weighs 200 pounds. Losing weight may also lower blood pressure and cholesterol, reduce sleep apnea and ease osteoarthritis symptoms.[1]
Weight loss should be approached safely and with a health professional: NIDDK notes, for example, that losing weight very quickly raises the risk of gallstones.[1]
Texas data context
On MedEquity you can compare PLACES obesity with related PLACES measures such as diagnosed diabetes and coronary heart disease. All are modeled, self-reported estimates for adults.[3]
County-level correlations describe places, not people. A county with higher obesity and higher diabetes does not show that obesity caused diabetes in any individual — this is the ecological fallacy. CDC also notes that the PLACES model uses the same demographic inputs for every measure, and advises caution when analysing PLACES estimates together.[4]
Related measures on the Explore map
- Obesity among adults (modeled estimate)
- Diagnosed diabetes among adults (modeled estimate)
- Coronary heart disease among adults (modeled estimate)
Advanced material (optional)
NIDDK notes that adults who gain less weight as they get older have lower risks of many cancers, including colon, kidney, breast and ovarian cancer.[1]
MedEquity note: An association is a statistical relationship between two things; on its own it does not show that one causes the other. Evidence about individuals comes from studies that follow people over time, which is a different kind of evidence from comparing counties.
References
- Health Risks of Overweight & Obesity. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH). https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/health-risks (accessed 2026-10-18).
- Adult Obesity Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult-obesity-facts/index.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
- PLACES Measure Definitions: Health Outcomes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/places/measure-definitions/health-outcomes.html (accessed 2026-10-18).
- PLACES: Frequently Asked Questions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/places/faqs/index.html (accessed 2026-10-18).