Risks for High Calorie Intake

High calorie intake puts you at risk for more than just weight gain.


One of the most basic risks associated with high calorie intake is the development of obesity, which occurs when actual body weight is at least 20 percent greater than ideal body weight. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 60 to 70 percent of Americans were considered overweight or obese in September 2012. But the health risks don’t just stop at the development of obesity. In fact, a wide variety of diseases and health conditions are associated with excessive calorie intake.

Cardiovascular Disease

As you gain weight, your body’s size becomes larger -- typically from fat accumulation. Your heart is forced to work harder to pump a sufficient amount of blood to your expanded areas. Over time, this increased workload on the heart can cause heart failure. As fat accumulates around your extremities and cholesterol accumulates inside your blood vessels, your heart must work even harder to push blood through your now-narrowed pipes, and high blood pressure develops as a result. High blood pressure further increases your risk of heart failure, along with heart attack and stroke.


If your high-calorie diet is filled with too many carbohydrates, which come from a wide variety of foods, you might also be at risk for diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body produces too little insulin or when the body’s insulin receptors become insensitive to the hormone. As a result, sugar molecules cannot enter your cells to produce energy, and they instead remain in your bloodstream, leading to further physiological damage.


As you accumulate excess weight, your body becomes heavier. This extra weight wreaks havoc on your bones and joints and could eventually lead to the development of osteoarthritis. Fluid-filled cushions protect the body’s joints by absorbing shock and preventing bone-to-bone contact during movement. Over time, excess weight causes these fluid-filled cushions to disintegrate from the extra pressure. This disintegration allows your bones to rub against one another, causing excruciating pain and inflammation in your joints.

Cognitive Impairment

According to a 2012 "USA Today" article, a study by the American Academy of Neurology suggests that high calorie intake might also be linked to mild cognitive impairment -- a type of memory loss that is noticeable, yet not severe enough to interfere with daily life. According to the study, older people who consumed a high-calorie diet had a much larger risk of developing this cognitive impairment than older people who ate a low-calorie diet. However, additional research is still needed to properly identify a link between caloric intake and cognitive impairment.

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