If you follow a weight loss program, you'll:

Medications and surgery can help some people, too.

Start by making an appointment with your family doctor. Your doctor might suggest you see a specialist.

Here's what we know happens to most people who follow a weight loss program.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.
The practical guide: identification, evaluation and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults.
October 2000. Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/prctgd_c.pdf (accessed on 20 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

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If you stay obese, you have a high chance of getting one or more of these serious health problems:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults.
Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines (accessed 20 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

Your risk of getting one or more of these conditions begins to rise when you become overweight. The risk gradually increases as you become heavier. Your health will be affected more if you also have other risk factors for health problems such as smoking or a family history of heart disease.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Noel PH, Pugh JA.
Management of overweight and obese adults.
BMJ. 2002; 325: 757-761.

 

 

 

 

 

³

Obesity can shorten your life. For example, men in their 20s who are obese can expect to live about 13 years less than men who aren't obese.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Calle E, Thun MJ, Petrelli JM, et al.
Body mass index and mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1999; 341: 1097-1105.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ Each year, about 300,000 people die from conditions related to obesity.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Allison DB, Fontaine KR, Manson JE, et al.
Annual deaths attributable to obesity in the United States.
Journal of the American Medical Association. 1999; 282: 1530-1538.

 

 

 

 

 

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The more overweight you are and the more risk factors you have, the more important it is to lose weight. The good news is that losing as little as 5 percent of your weight can cut your risk of getting these conditions.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults.
Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines (accessed 20 April 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

²

If you get pregnant and you are obese, you have an increased risk of health problems with your pregnancy. These include preeclampsia, a condition where your blood pressure gets very high and you might need to have your baby delivered early.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Hauger MS, Gibbons L, Vik T, et al.
Prepregnancy weight status and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcome.
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 2008; 87(9): 953-9.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

Being obese can also affect the quality of your life and how you feel about yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Fontaine KR, Barofsky I.
Obesity and health-related quality of life.
Obesity Reviews. 2001; 2: 173-182.

 

 

 

 

 

⁷

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kushner RF, Foster GD.
Obesity and quality of life.
Nutrition. 2000; 16: 947-952.

 

 

 

 

 

⁸

See How obesity affects your life.

You might need to go to the hospital more often and need to take more medications than people who are not obese.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Quesenberry CP, Caan B, Jacobson A.
Obesity, health services use, and health care costs among members of a health maintenance organization.
Archives of Internal Medicine. 1998; 158: 466-472.

 

 

 

 

 

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