Obesity is a condition that affects millions of people across the United States. In short, obesity is defined as having excess body fat. Technically speaking, the threshold for what constitutes “obesity” is having a Body Mass Index of 40 or greater. People who suffer from obesity live restricted lives in…
Respiratory diseases are often associated with a difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, inability to exercise or maintain physical stress, and other problems with the lungs. If you have one of the following respiratory diseases or disorders, you know how difficult it can be on a day-to-day basis: – Bronchitis –…
For people who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, getting and holding a steady job can be difficult, if not impossible. Often, the symptoms of cardiovascular diseases and disorders keep people stuck at home in pain. It is very common for people who suffer from circulatory diseases to have very little tolerance…
The federal government provides disability payments to some citizens if they are disabled to the point where they cannot perform the necessary functions of a job. There is a very detailed and specific set of criteria the Social Security Administration uses to assess a candidate’s application. The primary way to…
Among all the disabilities out there, the Social Security Administration gets more applications based on back problems than any other disability listing. This is, in part, because of the prevalence of back problems among the US population. Obtaining disability benefits for back problems is not necessarily easy; the Social Security…
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that is characterized primarily by seizures. Approximately 50 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with epilepsy, making it a more common disease than most people think. While some people with epilepsy are able to control their disease and the resulting seizures with medication, not…
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that usually arises after an especially traumatic event, such as abuse, rape, first-hand combat, a natural disaster, the sudden death of a loved one, or even the quick onset of a medical condition, such as a heart attack. PTSD diagnoses have increased…
Down syndrome is a chromosomal based disorder that occurs during gestation. About 1 in 830 newborns have this disorder. Humans have 46 chromosomes in each cell that are divided into 23 pairs. A change in the chromosome 21 pair (from which each parent contributes) has been found to be the…
The government understands that symptoms of severe digestive disorders can render an individual unable to work. For this reason, the Social Security Administration considers several digestive diseases as “qualifying disorders.” Those include: – Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) – Chronic liver disease – Gastrointestinal Hemorrhaging – Short Bowel Syndrome – Weight…
Obesity is medically defined as having excess fatty tissue somewhere on the body. The unofficial calculation is that anyone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 is considered obese. Those with a BMI over 40 are considered “morbidly obese.” BMI is a rather simple calculation and only considers an…