• Blood lipid disorders—Excess body weight has been associated with elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL (bad) cholesterol, as well as with decreased HDL (good) cholesterol.
• Hypertension—Studies have shown that blood pressure increases with higher BMI scores. Weight loss of as little as 10 pounds lowers high blood pressure.
• Type 2 diabetes-The relative risk for diabetes increases by approximately 25% for each additional unit of BMI over 22. Sometimes losing 10 to 20 pounds is enough to help lower your blood sugar to normal. Find out more about lowering blood glucose.
• Coronary heart disease-In a study in women, weight gain of 11 to 18 pounds increased coronary heart disease risk by 25%, and weight gain of 44 pounds or more increased risk more than 2.5 times in comparison with women whose weight was stable within a range of 11 pounds.
• Congestive heart failure-Excess weight has been identified as an important independent risk factor for congestive heart failure.
• Gallbladder disease-Gallstones can cause severe pain. The risk of gallstones increases with weight.
• Osteoarthritis-Osteoarthritis is a noninflammatory degenerative joint disease. There is a stronger association with overweight in the development of osteoarthritis of the knee in women than in men. Weight loss improves pain-free range of motion and may decrease the need for use of analgesics.
• Sleep apnea-Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening breathing disorder characterized by repeated cessation of breathing due to a collapse of the upper airway during sleep or the absence of respiratory effort. Excess weight in the upper body is linked to sleep apnea. Some consequences of sleep apnea are arousals from sleep, hypertension, and cardiac arrhythmias. Most people with sleep apnea have a BMI of 30 or higher.
• Cancer-Studies have shown that excess weight may be linked to several types of cancer: endometrial, breast, prostate, colon, rectum, and kidneys. Weight loss may reduce the risk of developing these and possibly other types of cancer.
  

General Goals of Weight Loss and Management
Treatment of obesity should focus on producing substantial weight loss over a prolonged period of time. Weight loss is not always steady; and may plateau for a time period and then continue to decrease. It is very important to maintain lower body weight after losing weight.

Experience has shown that lost weight usually will be regained unless a weight maintenance program consisting of dietary therapy, physical activity, and behavior therapy is continued indefinitely. The goals for weight loss and management are:

• To prevent further weight gain
• To reduce body weight
• To maintain a lower body weight over the long term

How Many Calories Do You Burn?
An increase in physical activity is an important component of weight loss. Now there is a way you can find out how many calorie you burn during the day. A device the size of a pager, worn on your waistband or best, reports the calories you are burning throughout the day. It is called a Calorie Tracker and is available in the Living Heart Store.

It is VERY important that you check with your physician before beginning any program of physical activity.

SLIM is the System for Lifestyle Internet Management. It provides everything you need to know about a diet to lose weight, and easy-to-follow steps for making dietary changes. It is available to you as a Living Heart Member. Click to learn about Benefits of Membership, Membership Plans, and Steps for Enrollment.

In addition to a diet for losing weight, you may wish to contact a dietitian for Nutritional Counseling.

* Adapted from: National Institutes of Health. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. The Evidence Report, National Institutes of Health publication no. 98-4083. 1998 Available at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_home.htm or by telephoning 301-251-1222.