THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF LOSING WEIGHT

Being overweight or obese increases your risk of long-term health problems that could shorten your life. There is a difference between being obese and overweight. The BMI (body mass index) is a measurement that tells us whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. According to this calculation, if a person has a BMI of 25-30, he is overweight. If his BMI is above 30, he is obese.  Being overweight or obese isn't a cosmetic problem. These conditions greatly raise your risk of:

• Cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Breathing problems
• Arthritis
• Gallbladder disease, Gallstones
• Some kinds of cancer, Colon, Breast
• Unhealthy cholesterol levels
• Depression
• Snoring
• Sleep apne
• Infertility
• Metabolic syndrome
• Falls
• Asthma
• Cataracts

If you're overweight or obese, losing weight can reduce your risk of some potentially serious health problems. Reducing your risk for serious life-threatening illnesses is an important health benefit. Preventing these serious illnesses is often the main health reason why people should try to lose weight if they are obese.
If you are overweight or obese, there are some powerful reasons to drop 10 percent of your body weight. Losing this amount of weight can significantly improve your health and well-being.  According to the  (NICE), most people who need to lose weight can get health benefits from losing even a small amount – about 5% – of their weight. Though it is ideal to reach the best weight for your height and body type, losing even a little bit of weight can significantly improve your health. Healthy weight loss should include a blend of diet and exercise.

Losing weight can improve your health in many ways and will benefit your health:

• Increased energy level
• Improved heart health (lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels)
• Improved mobility and pain-free Joints
• Decreased risk for diabetes
• Improved blood Glucose Control
• Decreased risk of some types of cancer
• Improved sleep quality and reduced sleep apnea
• Improved breathing
• Improved Infertility and Pregnancy Related Problems
• Reduced waistline size

10 MEDICAL BENEFITS OF NATURAL WEIGHT LOSS

1-Increased Energy Level

One of the first benefits you might notice is having more energy. Losing weight the healthy way means not only will you look and feel better, but you will have more energy. If you are losing weight with the help of exercise, your fitness will be increasing. So you could quite quickly be able to climb more stairs without getting out of breath, for instance. That's the feeling you get from losing as little as 5 pounds or 10 pounds.

2-Improved Heart Health (Lower Cholesterol and Blood pressure Levels)

Two of the major risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Obesity increases levels of lipids or fats (hyperlipidemia) and cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) in the blood leading to narrowing of blood vessels due to deposition of fats in coronary arteries (atherosclerosis). This in turn causes the blood pressure levels to soar (hypertension) and increases the risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction) and strokes. Obesity means stagnation of excessive cholesterol in the body which may lead to heart attack by blocking the arteries to the heart. As weight is lost, blood pressure often diminishes and the amount of LDL the liver produces is reduced. And decreases your risk of sudden death from heart disease or stroke

3-Improved Mobility and Pain-free Joints

Many obese people complain of joints pain. In many cases, this joint pain may develop arthritis (osteoarthritis) because obese people have overburdened their knees and joints with their excess body weight and this is the most common health hazard for an obese person. If you have been overweight for a long time, your risk of osteoarthritis will increase quite a lot as well. Losing weight can prevent you from developing osteoarthritis of the knee joints. If you already have painful knees, losing weight can relieve the symptoms. If you are obese and you have osteoarthritis in your knees, you are likely to notice that you can move your joints more easily if you manage to lose 10% of your body weight in three months. But even if you only lose 5% of your body weight in five months, you could still feel a real difference in what your knees can do. Even a loss of just 5 % of body weight can decrease the amount of stress on knees, hips, and lower back, and reduce pain.

4-Decreased Risk for Diabetes

Obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the body's blood glucose, or blood sugar, level is too high. Normally, the body breaks down food into glucose and then carries it to cells throughout the body. The cells use a hormone called insulin to turn the glucose into energy. In type 2 diabetes, the body's cells don't use insulin properly. At first, the body reacts by making more insulin. Over time, however, the body can't make enough insulin to control its blood sugar level. Diabetes is a leading cause of early death, CHD, stroke, kidney disease, and blindness. Most people who have type 2 diabetes are overweight. Weight reduction helps many diabetic patients in controlling their diabetes. Diabetes is potentially preventable through weight loss and by maintaining a healthy weight.

5-Improved Blood Glucose Control

Complications of diabetes occur mainly due to poorly controlled high blood glucose (sugar) levels. Weight loss also improves blood sugar control which, in people with type 2 diabetes or pre diabetes, could reduce restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorders, two sleep disorders that people with diabetes are prone to having.

6-Decreased Risk of Some Types of Cancer

Overweight individuals are also more likely to develop cancers such as cancers of gall bladder, endometrial, ovary, breasts and cervix in women, and cancers of the colon and prostate in men have been associated with excess body weight. Losing weight can decreased risk of these types of cancers.

7-Improved Sleep Quality and Reduced Sleep apnea

If you’re carrying extra pounds, especially around your belly, maintaining a healthy weight encourages better quality sleep and reduces the risk of developing sleep apnoea. (Breathing problems while sleeping) Losing just 10% of body weight can have a big effect on sleep apnea symptoms. In some cases, losing a significant amount of weight can even cure the condition

Many reported sleep problems such as sleep apnea, daytime fatigue, insomnia, and restless or interrupted sleep. Half of the volunteers went on a weight-loss diet with supervised exercise training. The other half did just the diet. After six months, participants in both groups had lost an average of 15 pounds and reduced their belly fat by 15%. Sleep quality improved in both groups. A reduction in belly fat was the best predictor of improved sleep. The results of this trial are in line with other studies exploring how weight affects sleep and sleep affects weight.

Excess weight and body fat increase the likelihood of developing obstructive sleep apnea. This condition occurs when the airway becomes blocked, either completely or partially, during sleep. These temporary blockages cause frequent awakenings which, in turn, increase the risk for conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

8-Improved Breathing

Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) is a breathing disorder that affects some obese people. In OHS, poor breathing results in too much carbon dioxide (hypoventilation) and too little oxygen in the blood (hypoxemia). OHS can lead to serious health problems and may even result in sudden death during sleep. Though losing weight is easier said than done, it can yield real results. Losing weight can reduce difficulty in breathing. Improving your breathing will improve metabolism to burn off fat and soften emotional issues that lead to food cravings and unnecessary consumption. If you practice the right breathing exercises, your body will automatically kick into a higher metabolism, your energy level will explode, and you can kiss your weight problem good-bye.

9-Improved Infertility and Pregnancy Related Problems

Obesity can also lead to pregnancy related and surgical complications. Obesity can cause menstrual issues and infertility in women. Some women also suffer from miscarriage due to their overweight and obesity. There have been very few studies to date regarding the reproductive consequences of weight loss in obese women suffering from infertility. In the one cohort study that has investigated this issue, the authors showed that even a small weight loss (an average of 6.3 kg) in anovulatory obese infertile women, achieved in a group setting over a 6 month period, resulted in an improvement in ovulation, pregnancy rate and pregnancy outcome, self-esteem and endocrine parameters.

10-Reduced Waistline Size

A large waistline this is called abdominal obesity or "having an apple shape."  But excess body weight isn't the only health risk. The places where you store your body fat also affect your health. Having extra fat in the waist area is a greater risk factor for CHD than having extra fat in other parts of the body, such as on the hips. Women with a "pear" shape tend to store fat in their hips and buttocks. Women with an "apple" shape store fat around their waists. If your waist is more than 35 inches, you may have a higher risk of weight-related health problems.

Losing a little weight can be especially beneficial for people who store their excess weight in their abdomens, rather than in their hips. We do know that fat deposited around the abdomen, called visceral fat, is associated with heart disease, diabetes, dementia, breast and colon cancers, and other chronic health conditions. Losing belly fat, then, seems like a logical way to improve not only weight-related health problems but also overall health.