Five reasons to lose weight that people don't talk about
Precision Nutrition recently published
an article called “5 reasons to
lose weight”, which failed to mention
disease prevention or looking
fit. As a fitness consultant myself,
I thought I would share these five
other reasons and try to encourage
more people to get on board with
living healthier. Knowing these
other benefits, I believe, will leave
you feeling not like you must lose
weight, but actually leave you
wanting to lose weight.
Joint health
Obesity makes it much more likely that you will suffer from osteoarthritis, and at an earlier age.
The Precision Nutrition article cites one study, which found that heavier people were six times as likely to get osteoarthritis in one knee and 18 times as likely to get it in both knees.
Also, everyday movements will feel better on your joints at a healthier body weight. This could mean anything from bending down to pick up your kids or walking up and down the stairs.
We all know if something hurts, we are less likely to do it so this joint pain leads us to moving less. Moving less usually means gaining more weight, which can become a vicious cycle.
Sleep quality
The more body fat you have, the greater the chance of suffering from sleep apnea. Anyone who does suffer from sleep apnea will tell you how bad it is. Imagine you’re fast asleep, suddenly you stop breathing and you jolt awake, but this happens again and again while you’re just trying to get some sleep.
According to the Precision Nutrition article, around 25 per cent of adults have some form of sleep apnea, but 50 per cent of obese people do.
It’s worse looking at children with only three per cent of kids suffering from the condition versus 46 per cent of obese children. Everyone wants a good night’s sleep so this is all the more reason to start thinking about healthier eating and exercising.
Food will taste better
People vary on how sensitive they are to certain flavours whether it be spicy, sweet, bitter etc. However, people with higher BMIs seem to avoid bitter foods more and have a stronger disgust response.
There isn’t a lot of available research on the subject, but rat models show that over feeding obesity prone rats changes how their taste cells function. I know we are not rats, but this could be one reason healthy eaters tend to enjoy vegetables, often bitter tasting, versus the more unhealthy of us scoffing at the idea of a salad.
Improve your immune system
Unlike the last reason, there’s actually a lot of evidence here.
Too much adipose tissue (fat) is linked with releasing large amounts of immune chemicals. Over time this increased exposure to chemicals interferes with the body’s ability to spot real infections. This means when you actually have unwanted infection-causing agents entering your body, your body doesn’t respond by fighting it. This leads to a greater chance of gum infections, nose/sinus infections and stomach infections.
Surgery is safer
Obese people are at higher risks during surgery.
They require longer operating times, have a higher risk of infection and have an increased rate of post-operation complications.
People who struggle with obesity are also more likely to require surgery, so it’s easy to see a problem here. Certain procedures are also unavailable to people who are overweight, requiring them to lose weight before the surgery can happen. This is not a position anyone wants to find themselves in, so why not actively try and avoid the situation now.
I find these reasons are not always talked about in media, even though they should be. I’m not going to tell you that you must start exercising and eating better, but if you want to then hopefully this helps.
Of course if you’re looking to make a change and start your journey to a healthier lifestyle, the staff at Fitness 101 can help. They offer free consultations and program designs to all of their members. They are all educated on topics such as nutrition and exercise and are always willing to help answer any questions you might have. Consider joining our Biggest Winner Challenge starting Feb. 22. For more information Fitness 101 is located in J-building.
Joint health
Obesity makes it much more likely that you will suffer from osteoarthritis, and at an earlier age.
The Precision Nutrition article cites one study, which found that heavier people were six times as likely to get osteoarthritis in one knee and 18 times as likely to get it in both knees.
Also, everyday movements will feel better on your joints at a healthier body weight. This could mean anything from bending down to pick up your kids or walking up and down the stairs.
We all know if something hurts, we are less likely to do it so this joint pain leads us to moving less. Moving less usually means gaining more weight, which can become a vicious cycle.
Sleep quality
The more body fat you have, the greater the chance of suffering from sleep apnea. Anyone who does suffer from sleep apnea will tell you how bad it is. Imagine you’re fast asleep, suddenly you stop breathing and you jolt awake, but this happens again and again while you’re just trying to get some sleep.
According to the Precision Nutrition article, around 25 per cent of adults have some form of sleep apnea, but 50 per cent of obese people do.
It’s worse looking at children with only three per cent of kids suffering from the condition versus 46 per cent of obese children. Everyone wants a good night’s sleep so this is all the more reason to start thinking about healthier eating and exercising.
Food will taste better
People vary on how sensitive they are to certain flavours whether it be spicy, sweet, bitter etc. However, people with higher BMIs seem to avoid bitter foods more and have a stronger disgust response.
There isn’t a lot of available research on the subject, but rat models show that over feeding obesity prone rats changes how their taste cells function. I know we are not rats, but this could be one reason healthy eaters tend to enjoy vegetables, often bitter tasting, versus the more unhealthy of us scoffing at the idea of a salad.
Improve your immune system
Unlike the last reason, there’s actually a lot of evidence here.
Too much adipose tissue (fat) is linked with releasing large amounts of immune chemicals. Over time this increased exposure to chemicals interferes with the body’s ability to spot real infections. This means when you actually have unwanted infection-causing agents entering your body, your body doesn’t respond by fighting it. This leads to a greater chance of gum infections, nose/sinus infections and stomach infections.
Surgery is safer
Obese people are at higher risks during surgery.
They require longer operating times, have a higher risk of infection and have an increased rate of post-operation complications.
People who struggle with obesity are also more likely to require surgery, so it’s easy to see a problem here. Certain procedures are also unavailable to people who are overweight, requiring them to lose weight before the surgery can happen. This is not a position anyone wants to find themselves in, so why not actively try and avoid the situation now.
I find these reasons are not always talked about in media, even though they should be. I’m not going to tell you that you must start exercising and eating better, but if you want to then hopefully this helps.
Of course if you’re looking to make a change and start your journey to a healthier lifestyle, the staff at Fitness 101 can help. They offer free consultations and program designs to all of their members. They are all educated on topics such as nutrition and exercise and are always willing to help answer any questions you might have. Consider joining our Biggest Winner Challenge starting Feb. 22. For more information Fitness 101 is located in J-building.
