The Importance of Weight Control

Weight control is general defined as maintaining a healthy weight that is just right for your individual body.

If advertising for weight-loss diets and equipment is to be believed, weight control is primarily about improving your appearance.

While it is true that keeping your weight in check can make you look better, it is even more important for your health and life expectancy and being overweight increases your risk of developing a number of serious medical conditions.

To maintain a healthy weight for your height and frame you need to adopt a strategy that will work for you in the long term. Many diet plans promise quick results, and while these may help you “kick start” weight loss, they are not all suitable for long-term weight control. The reason for this is what scientists identify as “set point” – the level at which your body defends its current weight.

If you consume extra calories over a short period of time, your body will use these up by generating additional heat but if, on the other hand, your burn more calories than you consume, your body will become more efficient at turning these calories into energy, to prevent short-term weight loss. This means that if you are trying to lose or gain weight, you have to make a serious commitment over a long period of time in order to retrain your body and readjust your set point.

Keeping your weight in check is critically important for your health. The more overweight you are, the higher your risk of developing serious medical conditions and the more probable that your excess weight will shorten your life. Conversely, if you are overweight, losing weight will greatly benefit your health and well-being.

Below are 7 good reasons you should do your best to maintain a sensible and healthy weight:

1 - Research shows that losing just 10 per cent of excess body weight lowers blood pressure, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease such as stroke.

2 - Losing weight lowers blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, both of which are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

3 - Overweight people are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who maintain a healthy weight. Losing weight reduces blood glucose levels and decreases the risk of developing diabetes.

4 – Losing weight will not only reduce your risk of developing osteoarthritis, but will also reduce the stress on weight-bearing joints, such as the hips, knees, and lower spine, that are already affected by osteoarthritis.

5 – If you are considering surgery to replace arthritic hip or knee joints, you will almost certainly be advised to lose weight before the operation and to control your weight afterwards to optimize the chances of a successful outcome.

6 – Obesity and being overweight are major risk factors for certain cancers. These include cancer of the uterus, cervix, ovary, breast, gall bladder, and colon in women, and cancer of the colon, rectum and prostate in men. Losing weight will reduce a corresponding reduction in those risks.

7 – Sleep apnoea is a serious condition that is closely associated with being overweight. A weight loss will usually improve this condition.

In addition, controlling your weight leads to enhanced self-esteem and greater sense of well-being, as well as improving your appearance which is a good enough reason in itself to make that little bit of extra effort.