More than Weight: Your Health Matters
Posted on: February 16, 2016 in Category: Medical Weight Loss
There are a lot of people who look at obesity as simply an aesthetic issue. Under this mindset, the desire to lose weight is a desire to fit into a smaller pair of pants, or to look better in a dress. The concept of body shaming comes out of this idea, that it is disrespectful and prejudiced to think less of someone who is overweight, or to assume that an overweight or obese person has to lose weight to feel better about themselves.
Feeling great in your body is part of being healthy, and having confidence in yourself at any size is the right step to take towards improving your health. However, getting caught up in the idea that obesity is purely an aesthetic issue is careless. Obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States, following only the best-known culprits like using tobacco products, car accidents, and drug overdose.
Obesity Related Disease
Weight loss programs do a whole lot more than help you look better, they are designed at the foremost to help you feel better. And to start experiencing these benefits you don’t have to wait long.
For someone who is considered overweight or obese, losing just five to ten percent of their excess body weight can trigger major changes to their health. This includes improvements such as:
- Decreased LDL cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol)
- Improved HDL cholesterol levels (the “good” cholesterol)
- Reduced blood pressure
- Prevention and even reversal of the onset of type-2 diabetes
- Improved ability to sleep
- Reduced inflammation in the body
A person who weighs 200 pounds may start experiencing the health benefits that come with losing weight after losing just 10 to 20 pounds. This isn’t a lot of weight, and on a medical weight loss program it is possible to reach a small milestone like this in just a couple of weeks.
Living in Los Angeles, it can be easy to get caught up in the focus on looking your best, but when it comes to your health and losing weight, feeling your best is the priority. Some individuals struggle with the desire to lose weight their entire life; and with the number of health problems linked to obesity growing, more and more people are looking into medical weight loss as an option to lose those unhealthy extra pounds. This is the difference between a medical weight loss program and the many fad diets you hear about. In medical weight loss, the focus in on your health and achieving optimal wellness.