Benefits of Losing Weight


"Less than one-third of U.S. adults are at a healthy weight. All adults: 65.4 million (32.3 percent) Women: 38.1 million (36.1 percent) Men: 27.4 million (28.3 percent)" -
National Center for Health Statistics. Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. Health, United States, 2006. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service. 2006.

Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in the western world. From WIN (Weight-control Information Network), 2/3 of adults aged 20 and older are overweight and obese - all adults: 133.6 million (66 percent); women: 65 million (61.6 percent); Men: 68.3 million (70.5 percent).


Many talk about the benefits of losing weight, but what are those benefits and how can you find yourself the results of losing weight?

 

 

 Belly Fat

 



Health Improvements After Weight Reduction


The most obvious benefit is better health. Even losing as little of 5% of your total weight can decrease your chance of developing some of the more serious side effects. Studies have shown that you can improve your health by losing as little as 10 pounds, reducing your chances of developing heart disease since it improves your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and how your heart works in general.

 

 


 Feet on Scale

 


Psychological and Social Effects of Obesity


Sitting near scale

American society emphasizes physical attractiveness is how slim the waist line is, especially for women. However, losing weight should not be about how beautiful you look on the outside, but how healthy your body becomes. Becoming healthy should be the number one reason for losing weight - feeling beauty comes naturally after. The way society emphasizes weight and thinness is emotional torture at the very least.


"One obesity study asked severely obese persons to take a forced-choice questionnaire," says Anne Collins. "That means, they had to make a choice between being at their present weight or having some other given illness. The results were astounding. Although there were some variations, every obese person said that they would rather be blind or have one leg amputated than be at their present heavy weight. Most interestingly, every person would rather be a poor thin person than be a morbidly obese millionaire."