What are the health benefits of losing weight?

Important Points:

Weight Loss
Benefits
Diabetes
Cancer
Pain
Cognitive function

What are the health benefits of losing weight?

1. It will improve your cognitive function

Losing weight is not just a physical change; it can also affect the way a person thinks. According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, intentional weight loss improves verbal memory, verbal fluency, executive function, and global cognition. If you feel that you need improvements in this department, losing weight would give you a boost.

2. It helps with your mood

Losing weight through exercise not only makes you healthier it can also make you happier. According to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, exercise can help with mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem.

3. It can improve your sex life.

In a study published in the journal Obesity, it was shown that those who suffer from obesity are more prone to erectile dysfunction. It has also been reported that the quality of sex in the obese is lower compared to people without a weight problem, so with regular exercise and weight loss, penile function will improve, and you can restore a satisfying sex life.

4. It can increase reproductive functioning.

Losing weight can help improve fertility in women especially those suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, while in men, weight loss helps improve semen health increasing the chances of reproduction.

5. You sweat less

Losing weight through losing body fat, which acts as a natural insulator, will keep you feeling cooler and decrease the tendency to sweat.

6. Your blood pressure will become lower

As little as a loss of ten pounds can lower a person’s blood pressure back to normal. The effect is so great that weight loss is recommended along with medication in treating hypertension.

7. It strengthens the heart

Losing weight makes it easier for your heart to pump blood throughout the body while exercising strengthens your heart muscles. Losing weight is generally healthier for your cardiovascular health.

8. It prevents Type 2 Diabetes

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, losing just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight delays the onset of type 2 diabetes.

9. It helps prevents cancer

Obesity is a risk factor to the many forms of cancer from breast to colorectal cancer. Losing weight eliminates this risk factor thereby reducing the risk of you developing cancer.

10. It is good for the kidneys.

Because losing weight can reduce high blood pressure, it prevents renal damage and kidney diseases. Add to that the fact that losing weight prevents diabetes, a common culprit for kidney failure, and then you have two great perks of losing weight.

11. It prevents pancreatitis and pancreatic stones.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk for pancreatitis and gallstones both of which are surgical risks and can cause a person a lot of pain. By losing weight you decrease the likelihood of stone formation and ensure your pancreas is in tip-top shape.

12. Your skin will be clearer

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease closely associated with obesity. Maintaining a normal weight has been shown to lessen psoriasis severity and the incidence of flare-ups. Aside from psoriasis, people who are obese are generally more prone to skin problems compared to those with normal weight.

13. It improves oral health

Losing weight has been correlated to reducing inflammatory gum conditions thereby improving oral health.

14. It helps with body pain

By being overweight you add extra work on your joints which leads to joint pain and inflammation. By reducing your weight you lessen the burden on your knees and back which helps alleviate joint pain.

15. It improves your nail health

According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, obesity has been strongly linked to Iron deficiency anemia. This type of anemia can wreak havoc on your nail health causing them to be brittle and fragile.

Cognitive Effects of Intentional Weight Loss in Elderly Obese Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/101/3/1104/2804876

Exercise for Mental Health

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/

Sexual Functioning and Obesity: A Review

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2012.104

Sexual Quality of Life Lower for the Obese

https://corporate.dukehealth.org/NEWS-LISTING/SEXUAL-QUALITY-LIFE-LOWER-OBESE

Weight loss before fertility treatment may improve pregnancy odds for women with PCOS

https://www.nih.gov/NEWS-EVENTS/NEWS-RELEASES/WEIGHT-LOSS-BEFORE-FERTILITY-TREATMENT-MAY-IMPROVE-PREGNANCY-ODDS-WOMEN-PCOS

Your Guide To Lowering Blood Pressure

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/public/heart/hbp_low.pdf