Positive Effects of Dieting on Individuals

¶ … outstanding fact: Americans love to diet. The South Beach Diet, Lo-Carb Diet, Slimfast, Weight Watcher's, diet pills, gastric bypass sugary. These are all examples of ways that adults in America are trying to lose weight. This obsession with losing weight seems to be spinning out of control. The question is why do people diet? Is it to lose the couple pounds you packed on during the holiday season, to look like all the other stick figures on television, or, is there a deeper reason? The reality of it is that there are 100 million overweight adults living in America today, and that 300,000 people a year die from diseases that are directly related to obesity. Obesity in America has become such a problem that it is the 2nd cause death that can be prevented, only narrowly behind smoking. There must be some positive, even essential reasons to diet. The most positive reasons to diet are for health reasons, self-esteem issues, and the quality of a person's life.

Health is the most important and most positive reason for dieting healthy. Obesity can lead to a number of serious health problems. Stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are just the most serious of the numerous health problems associated with obesity. Other risks include depression, high blood pressure, problems with reproducing, arthritis, back problems, breathing problems and the list goes on and on. The chances of being effected by these problems reduce greatly with healthy weight loss. There are many health benefits to dieting. By dieting you are lowering your chances of heart disease, and keeping your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol low.

Another important reason for dieting, especially for women, is to boost a persons self-esteem. Of the 100 million adults out there that are overweigh, a majority of them also suffer from low self-esteem. They look in the mirror and all they can see is fat. They feel alone and hopeless. They feel like they don't fit in anywhere. They feel that none of their clothes fit and wish that they could live up to the unrealistic version of what the media portrays as "the perfect body." In reality the average size of American women is a size 12. But how many size 12s do you see in Cosmo? The problem is magnified when, in order to feel better, they turn to food for comfort. It is a scientific fact that obesity leads to depression and in some instances suicide. It is for all of these reasons that a safe and effective diet can work wonders for people struggling with weight issues. A balanced, healthy diet can lead to weight loss, more energy and a much more positive outlook on life. Just by having someone ask you if you have lost weight can take a person with low self-esteem and turn him or her into a person who becomes happy with themselves, how they look, and how they feel.

Another great benefit of dieting is improving the quality of life. As an overweigh adult there may be many quality of life issues that tend to haunt you apart from the health and self-esteem issues. People look at you funny as you walk down the street. You are told that you have to buy two seats on an airplane because you will not fit comfortably in one seat. You can't play a game of catch with your son because you are out of breath just from bending over to pick up the ball. You hate shopping because they never have anything at the regular stores in your size and you have to go to the big and tall section of Wal-Mart. All of these are examples of how quality of life can be effected daily due to weight struggles. With weight loss you begin to notice that you can play with your son a lot longer then you used to be able to. You aren't getting quite as many strange looks on the street. You finally feel comfortable flying. These are the things that make up every day life. A well maintained diet and exercise program will help you have the quality of life that you longed for.