Karen’s independent life despite severe obesity
- 8. July 2024
- Reading time: 8 min.
Table of Contents
Understanding severe obesity
Severe obesity can detrimentally affect breathing and lung function. Excess fat around the abdomen and back can hinder chest expansion and impact the muscles that assist in breathing. This can lead to rapid, shallow breathing and increase the risk of respiratory diseases, especially if fat is stored around the abdomen and back.1
Body mass index (BMI) is a common tool used to determine if a person is severely obese.2
Health complications associated with severe obesity
Severe obesity can lead to a variety of health issues.3,4,5
Some of these include:
- Cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases)
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Sleep apnoea
- Breathing problems
- Osteoarthritis, particularly in the hips and knees
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety
- Pain and reduced physical function
How the VELA Chair supports individuals with severe obesity
Body positions significantly influence lung function, and for individuals with severe obesity, the correct body position can enhance lung performance. How one sits or lies down directly affects the mobility of the chest and the muscles used for breathing.
Research has demonstrated how severe obesity and various body positions impact chest volume, lung function, and respiratory muscle strength. For bedridden individuals with severe obesity, lung function improves when they move to a seated position. The findings indicate that sitting, both with and without back support, offers the greatest enhancements in lung function, total chest volume, and respiratory muscle strength.
Lying down causes the most significant reduction in chest volume, lung function, and respiratory muscle strength. Therefore, sitting up is crucial as a method to prevent and manage breathing difficulties in individuals with severe obesity.1
In this context, the VELA Chair can be an ideal solution and aid for a severely overweight person, as it provides freedom of movement and proper positioning for those with mobility limitations and breathing issues.
Sources
1 Total and Compartmental Chest Wall Volumes, Lung Function, and Respiratory Muscle Strength in Individuals with Abdominal Obesity: Effects of Body Positions 2019. Rattanaporn Sonpeayung et al.
2 https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/
3 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/obesity
5 https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/overweight-and-obesity/symptoms