Obesity is a dangerous epidemic in this country. According to the American Heart Association, nearly 225 million Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity can have serious health effects on people, including heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol. Losing weight has a large number of benefits that can improve quality of life.
Heart disease and cholesterol
Heart disease is a term that refers to a number of conditions including arrhythmia, heart attack, angina and congestive heart failure. The incidence of these conditions is greatly increased in obese or overweight men. Obesity is also a risk factor for high blood triglycerides and and decreased HDL (good) cholesterol. Losing between 5 percent and 15 percent of your weight can significantly lower your chances of developing heart disease or cholesterol problems.
Hypertension
High blood pressure (hypertension) is shown to be twice as common in obese men as in men of regular weight. Weight loss of 5 percent to 15 percent can decrease blood pressure significantly.
Diabetes
Studies have shown that gaining just 11 to 18 pounds can double men's risk of diabetes. In fact, there is a direct link between obesity and diabetes: 80 percent of people with diabetes are also overweight. Weight loss can decrease the effects of diabetes or prevent the disease from occurring. A 5 percent to 7 percenet decrease in weight can prevent diabetes in an at-risk person.
Cancer
Many cancer risks are increased by obesity, including gallbladder, prostate, colon and kidney cancers. Losing weight or maintaining healthy weight will cut the risk of these types of cancers.
Arthritis
For every 2 pounds of weight above normal healthy weight, the risk of arthritis increases 9 percent to 13 percent. Excess weight increases stress on bones, joints, muscles and ligaments, and weight loss can decrease the severity of arthritis symptoms.
Member Comments