Obesity refers to a medical condition whereby excess body fat has accumulated until it may cause adverse effects on the health, leading to increased health problems or/and reduced life expectancy. Obesity is a chronic disease causes numerous treatments and needs a long-life treatment (Huff, 2011).
The path to weight loss is gradual and steady as it is not just about diet and exercise but an ongoing lifestyle, which includes daily exercise habits and eating habits. Losing weight is not easy and an obese individual need to use up more calories than he does take in. No matter what a person’s weight loss is, even the least weight loss such as 5 to 15 percent of the total body weight, is likely to produce health benefits, for instance improvements in blood cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugars (Ogden et al, 2015).
One can achieve several benefits from investment and involvement in weight loss. Losing weight reduces the risk of having some adverse health problems that everybody likes to avoid.
1. Losing weight prevents twin killers- Stroke and Heart Disease
Stroke and Heart disease are the major causes of disability and death for adults in the world. Overweight adults are more likely to have high blood pressure, Angina, very high blood levels and sudden death from heart disease or stroke (Wright, & Aronne,2012).
2. Reduces the risk of some kinds of cancer
Overweight is associated with several kinds of cancer such as cancer of gallbladder, uterus, cervix ovary or breast in women, cancer of prostate, colon and rectum in men.
3. Prevents type 2 diseases
Both type 1 and type 2 illness are associated long-term complications that threaten quality of life of an individual. An overweight adult is likely to develop type 2 diseases (non-insulin dependent) than one who is not overweight (McGonigle, & Mastrian, 2014).
4. Improves sleep Apnea
This is a condition associated with weight loss and can cause one to snore heavily or stop breathing for short period. Losing weight can make an adult eliminate or reduce this problem.
5. Reduce osteoarthritis
Weight loss reduces the pain of being overweight. This disorder affects the lower back, hips and knees.
6. Removes Gout
Gout is a disease caused by high levels of uric acid in blood and it is more common to overweight adults.
7. Get rid of gallbladder grief
Reducing weight eliminates gallstones and gallbladder disease which is more common to obese adults.
8. Improve sexual satisfaction
Research shows that obese people are around 25 times likely to experience dissatisfaction with sex as compared to sex in normal weight people. Losing 10% weight can significantly improve sex satisfaction levels.
9. Cushions your wallet
Weight reduction can involve reducing the amount of intake of food daily. This will go ahead and reduce the amount of money spent on food which will eventually save you some money per year.
10. Taking less medications
With reduced weight, one will take less medication because of reduced chances of getting such diseases as diabetes and high blood pressure.
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References
Huff, C. (2011). Does your patient really understand?. Hospitals & health networks/AHA, 85(10), 34-5.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2014). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Flegal, K. M. (2015). Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2011-2014. NCHS data brief, (219), 1-8.
Wright, S. M., & Aronne, L. J. (2012). Causes of obesity. Abdominal imaging, 37(5), 730-732.
