According to statistics, more than 2.1 billion (~30%) of the world’s population is overweight or obese. It’s hard to say what percentage of them wants to lose weight, but likely it’s a significant number. Why? Primarily because all this “extra and excessive” leaves a noticeable mark on health.
Motivation is important for weight loss. Nothing can motivate better than health or, more precisely, the fear of losing it.
But even this incentive may prove insufficient in a situation where not one or two, but dozens of excess kilograms weigh you down, paralyzing you with a sense of hopelessness…
This article will be motivational. We will talk about why it is important to lose weight, the benefits of even slight weight loss for health, show what the main cause of obesity is, and also discuss what scientists recommend doing for weight loss based on scientific data.
An inspiring quote from a professor of medicine and dietetics 9:
“Losing 5% of your weight is significantly easier than losing 10%… but it is very important to understand that even this can have an incredible effect on health. It can be compared to a big bang…”
Main thoughts:
“Where the basis of the diet consists of processed human-made products, obesity always develops“
Weight loss of even 5% has a significant effect on health. Scientific research
At the center of our narrative will be a scientific study, the authors of which decided to investigate the difference in the effects of weight loss of 5, 10, and 15%, pointing out the shortcomings of the typical approach where scientists study “just the benefits of weight loss,” recommending “just lose weight.”
It involved 40 overweight individuals, some of whom maintained their weight while others lost weight through a low-calorie diet: one group lost 5%, another 10%, and a third 15%. The researchers observed various health indicators.
As a result, they found that losing even 5% of body weight is associated with significant health benefits, including a reduced likelihood of stroke, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Even with such a slight weight loss, the following factors improve:
- the amount of visceral fat;
- the amount of fat in the liver;
- levels of glucose, triglycerides, insulin, and leptin in the blood – factors related to cardiovascular diseases;
- blood pressure and heart rate.
These and other positive effects are proportional to the degree of weight loss: the lower the percentage of body fat, the greater the health benefits. In the mentioned experiment, the listed indicators improved even more with weight loss of 10% and 15%.
As is known, excess fat is associated with inflammatory processes: in the blood of overweight individuals, the concentration of substances indicating ongoing inflammatory processes is significantly higher compared to those with low body fat percentage.
This study showed that a 5% weight loss is NOT sufficient to stop inflammatory processes, as well as to normalize cholesterol levels in the blood.
Practical takeaway: if your persistent attempts to lose weight do not yield the expected results of 5-10-15 kg, it is important to realize that even minor results are very beneficial for health: you become healthier from the inside
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Why is it important to lose weight? The benefits of weight loss for health
Excess weight is associated with insulin resistance, fatty liver (not due to alcoholism), dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure – factors that increase the risk of serious diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease 2.
In 2014, scientists analyzed data from 5 million people over the age of 16 and concluded that every 5 kg of excess weight increases the risk of 10 types of cancer, including leukemia, cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, kidneys, cervix, and thyroid 3.
It has also been shown that the likelihood of premature death and cardiovascular diseases is 18% higher in obese individuals 4.
Obesity increases the risk of asthma, sleep disorders, depression, complications during pregnancy, and poor surgical outcomes 5.
In the USA, 75% of healthcare spending is attributed to 8 diseases related to obesity:
- fatty liver (not due to alcohol);
- hypertension (high blood pressure);
- polycystic ovary syndrome;
- cholesterol problems;
- cancer (especially of the breast, endometrium, colon, gallbladder, prostate, and kidneys);
- cardiovascular diseases;
- dementia.
The reasons why it is important to lose weight are related to the most important thing for every person – health: the overwhelming majority of those who die from cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes are overweight.
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Why the weight loss problem is so relevant or The main causes of obesity
Let’s look at the main causes of obesity.
1 We eat too much (calories)
Excess calories in the diet are called by scientists the main cause of obesity.
The popular recommendation to exercise more in order to lose weight has largely become such due to the efforts of marketing departments of companies producing unhealthy food products.
It is quite possible to lose weight without exercising. For this, it is simply necessary to eat less, creating a calorie deficit. (This does not apply to cases where obesity is a result of hormonal imbalances and other causes that are practically uncontrollable. Such cases can exist. See I want to lose weight but can’t… What to do?)
Moreover, eating a little less is significantly easier than burning off cookies on a treadmill: an hour of moderate-intensity running is equivalent to just one… Snickers.
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2 We eat too few natural products
If the diet contains too few natural products, it is logical that it contains too much of what humans have learned to produce: nicely packaged goods, pleasant to taste, with endless shelf lives and very long ingredient lists on the packaging.
Highly processed food products created by humans provoke overeating and are saturated with substances that, both individually and in combination, cause metabolic disorders and uncontrolled increases in body fat.
Sugar, fructose, trans fats – the most popular examples that are well-known. There is virtually no doubt that these substances are the main culprits of most diseases and the increase in obesity rates.
“Where the diet is based on processed human-made products, obesity always develops“
Fast food is particularly dangerous, as it is aggressively marketed and specifically designed in laboratories to create addiction and provoke overeating repeatedly.
Antibiotics. Excessive use of antibiotics in medicine and in food production (meat) is also a factor in obesity.
In one experiment, when mice were given antibiotics during the first four weeks of life, they grew to be 25% heavier than their peers and had 60% more fat in their bodies 6.
Chemicals. Chemicals that destroy the endocrine system (pesticides and plastics) inevitably enter our bodies. Disruption of thyroid function almost always affects the ratio of body fat.
The two main reasons for obesity: we eat too many calories and very few natural products; human-made products provoke overeating, metabolic disruption, and obesity.
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So, the benefits of weight loss for health are obvious. What to do to lose weight?
Most likely, what has been said above surprised few with its novelty: we all understand that extra pounds are not very beneficial for health.
We also hope that the scientific research presented has added motivation for weight loss.
What’s next?
Let’s start by looking at the fundamental reasons why losing weight is so difficult.
Sugar and obesity or Why everyone always recommends “eating less sweets” for weight loss
Most people with excess weight and obesity develop insensitivity to two very important hormones: insulin and leptin.
Typically, before a person starts to gain body fat significantly, they first become insensitive to leptin.
Leptin is a hormone that helps control appetite: when its level in the blood rises, the body understands that it is full, and we stop consuming food.
Leptin insensitivity means consuming more food, i.e., calories, the excess of which is converted into fat.
Many people with excess weight have impaired ability to oxidize or “burn” fats, which manifests as a chronic feeling of lethargy. There is the following paradox: a person eats a lot and “carries with them” tens of thousands of stored calories in fat, yet still lacks energy.
What is the cause of the development of leptin resistance?
Scientific research indicates that refined sugar and fructose are one of the main causes of the development of leptin resistance and blocking the body’s ability to burn fats for energy 7.
If the body is already resistant to leptin, then continuing to consume sugar or fructose programs it to increase fat mass, as these nutrients “turn off” the mechanism that controls their consumption and carry a colossal amount of calories.
That is why those who want to lose weight should completely eliminate sugar and fructose from their diet or at least limit their intake to 15-25 g (in total, from all products).
This will not only help stop the process of obesity but also prevent the worsening of metabolic disorders and health.
The benefit of eliminating sugar for weight loss is that it “turns off” the hormonal mechanism that controls appetite in the body and simultaneously carries a large amount of calories that are easy to convert into fat.
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Weight Loss Recommendations
First of all, study our materials in the section How to Lose Weight. There is a lot of interesting and useful information, and almost all of it is based on scientific data.
The following recommendations are a summary of the current understanding of the weight loss issue by scientists. Implementing them will help not only get rid of excess fat but also significantly improve health.
Many modern doctors and scientists also recommend them to people with normal weight to improve metabolism and health:
Completely eliminate or at least limit the amount of sugar and fructose in your diet.
Remove all refined, man-made products and replace them with natural ones.
Follow the principles of intermittent fasting to activate the body’s potential to burn fat.
Intermittent fasting is considered one of the most effective diets for weight loss, as it helps switch the body to use fat instead of carbohydrates (sugar) as the primary source of energy.
More and more scientific facts indicate that when this happens, the risk of chronic diseases significantly decreases.
And, of course, engage in sports 😉
Pay attention to high-intensity interval training: they are recognized by scientists as one of the most effective for weight loss.
One of the most effective diets for weight loss and health is called intermittent fasting by scientists, and one of the most effective workouts for weight loss is high-intensity interval training.
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Postscript
The benefits of weight loss for health are obvious.
Obesity is associated with a huge number of diseases that kill a large portion of the population of our planet.
It is always incredibly difficult to start, especially when it is not easy to move oneself from the spot.
Just remember the key thought: even a small amount of weight loss is incredibly beneficial for health.
