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Dietician Sheela Seharawat

Why is it necessary to lose weight?

Consumption of unhealthy processed food and present lifestyle has increased the occurrence of obesity (It is a medical condition in which excess body fat gets accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative impact on a person’s health leading to increased health issues and reduced life expectancy). Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in India in the 21st century, with morbid obesity affecting 5% of the country's population. India is following a trend of other developing countries that are steadily becoming more obese.

People who are overweight or obese should try not to ignore the consequences since they are highly prone to various health problems and they must try to lose weight for leading a healthy life. Whether a person has an ideal body weight or is overweight or obese can be known by calculating his/her BMI (Body Mass Index). The formula for BMI is:
 

BMI range Category
Less than 18.5 Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 Normal weight
25 - 29.9 Overweight
30 - 34.9 Grade I obese
35 - 39.9 Grade II obese
More than 40 Grade III obese

There are lots of factors which can contribute to a person’s weight like environment, family history and genetics, metabolism and behavior or habits.

Now let’s talk about the benefits of losing weight:

1. Reduced risk of diabetes

Excess weight causes the body cells to become less sensitive to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body cells to utilize sugar or glucose. As a result an overweight or obese person develops a huge risk of getting type 2 diabetes. (condition when the body cells become resistant to insulin and cannot utilize available sugar properly leading to an increase in blood sugar level) This can be prevented by increasing physical activity and reducing excess weight. A weight loss of around 4.5 kgs can reduce the chances of getting diabetes by 60%.

2. A Lower Cholesterol Level

Overweight people tend to have high levels of LDL (bad cholesterol). This LDL circulates through the blood and form plaques in arteries causing atherosclerosis which increases the chances of a stroke or heart attack. Losing weight with the help of a healthy diet and increased physical activity causes lowering down of bad cholesterol (LDL) and increasing good cholesterol (HDL) and preventing the risk of heart attack or stroke. A weight loss of 4.5 kgs can lower cholesterol levels by 10%.

3. Improved sex life
Sex drive is affected by conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes etc which are quite common in case of overweight or obese person. Also about 80% of overweight or obese men can a get a problem of erectile dysfunction.

4. Reduced Risk for Cancer

Obese people are also prone to cancer. The exact reason is still under research but it’s quite possible that fat cells are highly active and release large amounts of hormones which can promote cancer. Losing weight reduces cancer risk especially breast and uterine cancer where losing weight significantly reduce the levels of particular carcinogenic hormones.

5. Lower Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the measure of the pressure of blood on the artery walls, a normal blood pressur is 120/80 mmHg but if there is formation of plaque in the arteries it can cause high blood pressure. Overweight people tend to have more of bad cholesterol in their blood which can cause plaque formation in the arteries leading to high blood pressure or hypertension as mentioned earlier. Losing weight can reduce the bad cholesterol and help prevent hypertension.

6. Reduced Joint Pain

Excess weight puts a lot of pressure on joints. If nothing is done to reduce this pressure, with time the cartilage starts wearing away finally leading to arthritis. Being overweight puts huge pressure on your joints. As you lose weight and reduce the pressure on your joints, the cushioning between the bones will build back up protecting you from the risk of developing arthritis in future.

Last but not the least, losing weight helps you gain confidence, makes you look good and feel happy. You can fit into the dress which you had been thinking to wear for sooooo long