You don’t have to look
far to get the message that weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight are
important. Turn on the television or pick up a glossy magazine and you’ll be
bombarded with the message that a lean body is beautiful.
That’s one superficial
reason to set a weight-loss goal. But there are also many more meaningful
reasons to work toward achieving a healthy weight, if you’re not there already.
You’ll feel better and have more energy. You’ll also lower your chances of
having high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and even
conditions like sleep apnea. If you already have a condition like hypertension
or diabetes, weight loss can actually lessen the severity of the
disease.
And there’s even
better news. You don’t have to look like a model in a magazine to get all the
benefits of being at a healthy weight. Losing just 10 to 15 pounds can make you
significantly healthier.
If you have extra
pounds to lose, here’s why it’s time to start a weight-loss plan.
Healthy Weight: The
Dangers of Being Overweight
Carrying around extra
pounds can create a variety of health problems from causing your joints to ache
to raising your risk for disease:
·
Extra weight puts more pressure on your joints and can lead to arthritis,
says Kristin Kirkpatrick, RD, wellness manager for the Lifestyle 180 program at
the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute in Ohio.
·
A diet high in trans fats and sugars and low in whole
grains is more likely to damage your arteries and may contribute to heart
disease, Kirkpatrick says. When you eat fresh fruit and vegetables, lean
protein, and whole grains, and cut out foods high in sugar and trans fats (such
as packaged baked goods and fried foods), you’re more likely to lose weight and
lower your risk of heart disease.
·
Almost across the board, people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are
overweight, and more than half are obese.
·
Having more fat in your midsection — a waist circumference of more than 35
inches for women and more than 40 inches for men — can significantly increase
your risk for metabolic syndrome, a group of factors that heighten your risk
for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. That’s because fat around your middle can lead
to inflammation in the body, and inflammation increases the risk of heart
disease and type 2 diabetes, Kirkpatrick says.
Healthy Weight: Why
Small Weight Loss Leads to Big Benefits
Losing just 10 percent
of your weight can significantly lower your cholesterol and help improve blood
sugar levels, Kirkpatrick says. It can also improve your blood pressure. Here’s
what research has shown:
·
Carrying around 10 extra pounds on your frame puts 30 to 60 more pounds of
force on your knees every time you take a step. The good news: One study found that
women of normal height lowered their risk of osteoarthritis in their knees by
half for every 11 pounds they lost.
·
A recent study of more than 2,500 people with type 2 diabetes found that
those who lost an average of 23 pounds in the 18 months after being diagnosed
had better blood sugar levels and better blood pressure readings four years
later, even if they regained the weight.
·
Although sleep apnea (a disorder in which people stop breathing for
prolonged periods when they’re sleeping) is associated with being overweight,
experts say that losing 10 percent of your weight can make a significant
improvement in the severity of the disorder.
When Kirkpatrick works
with patients, they tell her after only two or three weeks of eating healthy,
exercising, and managing stress that they have more energy, sleep better, and
feel better physically and emotionally. "The overwhelmingly large response
that we get is about their energy level," she says. "They're not
exhausted when they get up in the morning to go to work."
Your ultimate
weight-loss goal should be your health, she says. When you make strides toward
a healthy weight, you’ll feel better physically and emotionally, have a better
chance of avoiding disease, and even live longer.