How Losing a Small Amount of Weight Can Impact Your Life in a Big Way
The benefits of weight loss begin with just a 5 to 10 percent decrease in your weight. If you weigh 200 pounds, losing 10 to 20 pounds will positively impact your health.
Benefits of losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight may include:
- Sleep apnea improvement by 50 percent.
- Lipid profile can improve.
- LDL (bad cholesterol) may decrease by 3.9 points.
- Triglycerides may decrease by 6.6 points.
- HDL (good cholesterol) may increase by 1.7 points.
- Blood pressure can improve.
- The top number of your blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, can drop by as much as 10 points!
- Type 2 diabetes can improve.
- Cardiovascular disease risk factors are reduced.
Losing 10 percent of your body weight could improve the following conditions:
- Arthritis and back pain
- Gout
- Pain
- Urinary stress incontinence
- Kidney disease
- Gall bladder disease
- Infertility
- Liver disease
Obesity and Cancer
Losing 5 percent of your weight may also help you avoid many types of cancer. As your weight increases, your risk for cancers of the uterus, gallbladder, kidney, cervix, thyroid and leukemia increases.
Having a BMI greater than 30 increases your risk for liver, colon, ovarian and postmenopausal breast cancers.
Keeping these things in mind as you begin your weight-loss journey will help you stay motivated. Studies have proven that even a modest weight loss adds years to your life – and life to your years!
*Patient results may vary.
Weight Management: Pathways to Improving Your Health
Hattiesburg Clinic Weight Management will provide healthy tips and information each month. To be notified of an update via text message, opt in by texting the word WEIGHT to 57711.