Maintaining a healthy weight is a lifestyle everyone fancy, but saying it is easier than doing it. If exercising and maintaining a healthy weight were easy, you wouldn’t see weight loss-related new year’s resolutions or ongoing trends in fitness and good dieting.
Obesity is common in the United States, with about two-thirds of the population being overweight. It is a growing concern because obesity often leads to chronic conditions. It strains your bones, muscles, and tissues, making it harder for your body to carry you.
Not all overweight cases are due to poor dieting. It can be due to the medications for some common STDs like HIV. Regardless of the cause, losing a few pounds makes a big difference, so if you haven’t started, the time is now.
This article discusses some of the benefits of weight loss for heart health. Stay tuned.
Reduces the risk of coronary artery disease
Being overweight not only puts a strain on your body but also interferes with your look. It is one of the risk factors for coronary artery disease- The narrowing of the arteries due to fat and cholesterol plaque buildup. CAD is the primary cause of heart attack and stroke.
In general, obesity can lead to a heart attack. This is why those living with obese people are advised to register for CPR BLS certification online to help and save lives in an emergency.
It is important to lose weight and reduce fats and cholesterols that may build up and block your arteries. Fortunately, even losing 5% of your body weight can have a significant impact as it can reduce your chances of developing heart disease.
Lowers blood pressure
Being overweight makes your heart work extra hard when pumping blood through the body. This raises blood pressure which can lead to heart disease, kidney damage, stroke, or vision problems. By losing weight, your heart will not pump harder, thus lowering your blood pressure.
Lowers cholesterol level
Being overweight can lead to the buildup of cholesterol, and high cholesterol levels can cause heart disease. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your cholesterol levels are high if you are overweight. Other factors like hormones, genes, and environmental situations determine cholesterol levels.
But if you are overweight and eating lots of junk and unhealthy foods like fast food and processed meat, the risk of cholesterol buildup is high.
All in all, losing weight can reduce cholesterol levels in your body, which helps balance the fats in your bloodstream and, in turn, helps in the heart’s normal function.
Reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a common metabolic condition. The body of a diabetic person cannot convert sugar into energy leading to the high blood sugar level in the body. High blood sugar increases the risk of developing heart disease, nerve damage, stroke, etc.
Obesity is a leading factor for developing type 2 diabetes which makes it difficult for your body to process sugar from the food you eat.
Being overweight puts you at risk of developing heart problems. So the only way to avoid these diseases is to lose weight, but you should go slowly. The method you chose for weight loss can help or hurt your heart, so choose wisely. Choosing a bad plan can have adverse effects on your heart.
Negative effects of weight loss on your heart
You should surely lose weight if you are overweight, but doing it too fast can be dangerous. Here are some of the impacts of the wrong weight loss method on your heart:
Vigorous exercise can be hard on your heart.
Exercising can keep you in form and reduce your risk of developing heart disease but doing vigorous exercise on your body if it is not accustomed to difficult routines can disrupt how your heart functions.
Crash diets can cause an irregular heartbeat.
By trying to lose weight quickly, you can also lose essential nutrients in your body. This can lead to conditions like loss of heart muscle mass and arrhythmia.
Conclusion
Being overweight is a disease you can only cure through weight loss. Obese is the primary cause of most heart problems. It is, therefore, important to gradually start shedding weight.
