Lose Weight - Do You Really Need To?
If you are overweight, you may be more at risk of
developing disease. That should be reason enough to lose weight. Weight
related conditions include:
Premature death
Cardiovascular disease
High blood pressure
High Cholesterol
Stroke
Gallbladder Disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and breathing problems
Some cancers
Diabetes
Obesity can also cause irregular periods, complication with
pregnancy, hirsutism (excessive body and facial hair), incontinence,
depression, surgery complications and more.
If your health doesn't concern you, maybe your pocketbook does. By
staying overweight, you may increase the amount of time spent visiting
various healthcare professionals. Most of them don't work for free.
Medications to treat these diseases can run into hundreds of dollars a
month. Not to mention, you may have to take more time off work to care
for your ailments. This means less income for you. And, you may notice
that your health insurance premiums keep going up. It's because the
amount being spent on healthcare keeps going up. A majority of which is
related to treating problems that could be prevented by exercise and
staying at a healthy weight. What a vicious cycle it is.
The annual cost associated with obesity and being overweight is
staggering. The national cost of healthcare related to this is well
over $100 Billion dollars. Diabetes and heart disease are among the
fastest growing diseases that could easily be prevented in most people
by staying at a healthy weight and exercising. Visit the NIDDK to get a
breakdown of the costs associated with each disease that is related to
being overweight.
By losing weight and starting a healthier way of life you can
really save a lot of money. Eating healthier usually also means eating
less. You may be able to save on the amount you spend on groceries and
eating out each week too. Think of all the other things you could do
with that money you'll be saving. It may require an initial investment
to get the weight off but the rewards are well worth it.