From: Development of the Weight-Related Sign and Symptom Measure
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Shortness of breath | âŠyouâre toting on this extra baggage and I find itâs very difficult to breathe sometimes. I get a lot of episodes where I feel like Iâm short of breath or I just canât breathe as relaxed as I want to breathe. (Overweight female) When I was at my biggest weight, I was out of breath even going upstairs. Now Iâm going up and down the stairs and I donât have that issue now, so I can definitely see the difference. (Obese Class III male) |
Joint pain | For me itâs the anklesâŠI notice what really hurts the most, worse than my knees, and I have arthritis in the knees, is the ankles. The ankles are really taking a pounding holding up this much weight. (Obese Class III female) I have achy jointsâŠSo knee problems, knee issues. I canât stand for too long. I have to sit down. I canât go up the stairs. (Obese Class I female) |
Back pain | âŠwhen I gained some weight, it put more pressure on my back, so it aggravated my symptoms more. So, when I started to lose some weight, I could have a little more relief. (Overweight male) Yeah, it brings you to a slouch. When your gut sticks out, I mean, it just puts a strain on youâŠIt hurtsâŠitâs hard on your back. (Obese Class I male) |
Low physical stamina | Just like pace yourself, things that would be routine, now you find yourself, I can do it for about 15 min, then okay, then rest, then go back to do it again. I used to be able to do it all at onceâŠI think weight has something to do with that. Obviously, age also. (Obese Class I male) It makes it a little difficult that I have to plan my day around my activities, around my weight ⊠but I do know that losing weight has helped. I have lost 15 pounds in the last 3 months, and I have noticed that has helped quite a bit, but it still makes it hard to keep up your stamina. (Obese Class II female) |
Trouble sleeping | âŠthere are times where I usually get four or 5 h of sleep, but itâs just constantly tossing and turning, from not being comfortable. Just being so big I guess I canât get comfortable. When I was thinner, it was easier. I could lie down at any time and never hurt anything. (Obese Class II female) ⊠I used to sleep in on the weekend but now with my son I donât get to sleep in, so I never get to recover. And I think part of that is just because I have sleep apnea ⊠because of my weight, and I canât get a really good nightâs sleep because of it. Itâs probably been years. (Obese Class III male) |
Sensitivity to heat | So, I am hot all of the time and coldâŠit is different when I am thinner. (Obese Class II female) My wife calls me the human furnace. Even in the wintertime I need a window open and a fan on because number one, Iâm either hot and I canât breathe. (Obese Class II male) |
Low energy | I always had an extremely high energy level and the heavier Iâve gotten the more that my energy level has dramatically droppedâŠI have to constantly battle what part of me wants to stay home and rest and another part of me saying youâve got to get up and go to work. A lot of it is my energy level. (Obese Class III female) I have more energy. I know that much because like Iâve said, lately Iâve been maintaining this weight. When I did lose some weight, I was able to do more things. I wasnât always taking a deep breath. Like doing the laundry, Iâll do a load of laundry and have to bend down, pick it up, put it in the machine. By the time Iâm done with that, Iâm like, okay. I need a break. (Obese Class II male) |
Heavy sweating | I sweat like crazy. When I was heavier, I was just sitting in the shade by a tree. Iâd be sweatingâŠNow that Iâve lost a little weight itâs not as bad. (Obese Class III male) But I mean itâs still good to have a fan on because I am just overweight and when you have all that weightâŠyour body just tends to increase the temperature especially when you sleep. For some reason, for me I have been sweating in my sleep, so I have to sleep with the fan on. (Obese Class II female) |
Foot pain | Then Iâve also had issues with plantar fasciitis, which is, like, heel pain. And the podiatrist said itâs all the extra weight. For every step I take, it makes it really bad for my heels, so definitely extra weight causes problems. (Obese Class I female) Yes, I get foot pain sometimes. It feels like⊠At the top of my foot, not the bottom. Like the muscle feels pulled, stressed. (Obese Class III female) |
Low sexual desire | So, the reason I have one kid is I just donât have the stamina or just donât have that drive. If youâre in good shape, youâre alwaysâŠeverything is working the way it should be. (Overweight male) |