When thinking about weight-loss, one often has an “ideal” body weight in mind or an ultimate weight-loss goal. It is a very common misconception for people to think that unless they reach that goal, they will not be any healthier.
Studies have shown that health benefits resulting from weight-loss are evident with a weight reduction as low as 5-10 percent. There’s scientific evidence that many obesity-related conditions improve with a 5-10 percent weight-loss.
Let’s look at related conditions and how they benefit from modest Weight loss:
Sleep Apnea
Studies shown that every inch you loose from your waist, your risk for sleep apnea decreases by 10 percent, so there is a direct relation ship between 5-10 percent weight loss and this deadly disease.
Cholesterol
There is a direct relationship between losing weight and increasing HDL which is the good cholesterol. This is extremely important because increasing HDL can prevent future heart attacks.
Hypertension
Excess body weight accounts for about 25-30 percent of hypertension cases. By losing 5-10 percent of one’s weight, blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, decrease by 5 mmHg on average. In conjunction with diet changes and exercise, this effect can be higher and very significant.
Diabetes
Research has shown that a 5-10 percent weight-loss can decrease Hemoglobin A1c by half a point on average, having a similar effect as anti-diabetic pills on blood sugars and very significant in future disease prevention.
