3 Surprising Benefits to Losing Body Fat
The need to lose weight is often associated with trying to look better and to help avoid various diseases. Although very important in most people’s eyes, there are numerous other important reasons why you should lose weight which are often not flagged up as regularly.
#1 – Your joints will thank you
‘Two rocks grinding together’ is a good analogy when describing Osteoarthritis. It is a degenerative joint disease where you lose cartilage and progressively damage the bones connected to your joints. This disease comes with age, it is very uncommon within the healthier, fitter younger population.
Osteoarthritis is a cruel cycle where you will experience the following:
- Painful joints make you less likely to be active as you won’t want to load your already painful joints with additional weight.
- Less load on your joints means weaker surrounding muscles.
- Weaker muscles provide less support to the joint under load.
- Less support results in joint deterioration.
- The worse the osteoarthritis the worse the pain
Being overweight you are more likely to get osteoarthritis, but it isn’t just the excess weight that contributes to this disease. There is also the issue of inflammation from the excess fat tissue. Inflammation and excess loading of joints is a perfect recipe for getting osteoarthritis.
#2 – You'll start to sleep through the night
Being overweight can hinder the quality of your sleep. Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder which interferes with your breathing during sleep and will occur over and over throughout the night. The higher your body fat the more likely you will suffer from sleep apnea.
Why does this happen?
- Excess weight on your lungs decreases the space available. You want to take in more oxygen but physically can’t get it.
- Excess fat in your airways reduces the space accessible for air to pass through.
A 5% weight gain results in a 250% increase in severe sleep apnea!
Poor sleep has a load of negative consequences and further contributes to the negative cycle. It increases inflammation due to elevated levels of cortisol and screws up your appetite and hunger signalling making you more likely to eat calorie dense, pro-inflammatory foods.
#3 – You'll build a stronger immune system
