Obesity-related disease: Any disease for which obesity is a significant risk factor. Obesity increases the risk of developing a very large number of diseases, including:

• Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Stroke (cerebrovascular accident or CVA)
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction or MI)
• Heart failure (congestive heart failure)
• Cancer (certain forms such as cancer of the prostate and cancer of the colon and rectum)
• Gallstones and gall bladder disease (cholecystitis)
• Gout and gouty arthritis
• Osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) of the knees, hips, and the lower back
• Sleep apnea (failure to breath normally during sleep, lowering blood oxygen)
• Pickwickian syndrome (obesity, red face, underventilation, and drowsiness).