morbid obesity


mor·bid o·be·si·ty

obesity sufficient to prevent normal activity or physiologic function, or to cause the onset of a pathologic condition.
A condition defined as a BMI of greater than 40 kg/m2. MO is common in the US and increasingly so in developed countries. The co-morbidities of morbid obesity are those of obesity, but more severe—type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease/heart disease, sleep dypnoea, osteoarthritis and a 25–33% increased risk of breast, colorectal, endometrial, kidney, oesophageal and prostate cancer and an even higher risk of gallbladder cancer
Management Managing morbid obesity requires lifestyle changes including exercise, or surgery, which offers various solutions in the form of bypasses, resections, staples, etc. Bariatric surgery may result in significant weight loss, but potential jejuno-ileal bypass complications include steatorrhoea, liver failure, cirrhosis, oxalate deposition, gallstone formation, electrolyte imbalance—decreased Ca2+, Mg2+, K+—hypovitaminosis, psychologic problems, polyarthropathy, hair loss, pancreatitis, colonic pseudoobstruction, intussusception, pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis, and blind loop syndrome
Note: Mutations in the leptin gene are linked to insatiable appetite, morbid obesity and clinical defects which respond to leptin therapy. However, leptin gene mutations are ‘case report rare’ and for most of those suffering from morbid obesity, the problem is not genetic

morbid obesity

Superobesity Bariatircs A condition defined as 45 kg > ideal body weight, 2 times > ideal/standard weight or, for children, a triceps skin fold > 95th percentile of all children; despite significant weight loss following jejuno-ileal bypass, the procedure is complicated by steatorrhea, hepatic failure, cirrhosis, oxalate deposition, bile stone formation, electrolyte imbalance–↓ Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, hypovitaminosis, psychologic problems, polyarthropathy, hair loss, pancreatitis, colonic pseudoobstruction, intussusception, pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis, blind loop syndrome. See Gastric balloon, Obesity, Pickwick syndrome.

mor·bid o·be·si·ty

(mōr'bid ō-bē'si-tē) Being sufficiently overweight so as to prevent normal activity or physiologic function or to cause the onset of a pathologic condition; BMI ≥40.

mor·bid o·be·si·ty

(mōr'bid ō-bē'si-tē) Obesity sufficient to prevent normal activity or physiologic function or to cause the onset of a pathologic condition.