If you have ever tried to lose weight for aesthetic reasons, you may know how hard a battle weight loss can be. Even though being physically attractive may have given you the push to start losing weight, there are more serious issues at hand that come along with being overweight. Obesity is a national financial burden and is the cause of unnecessary, preventable deaths each year.

Being overweight contributes to many diseases including: high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, increased cancer risks and has negative psychological effects. These are just some of the effects of excess weight and the complications are not limited to these threats. Taking a closer look at these health concerns may allow for reevaluation of the importance of keeping your body healthy.

High blood pressure occurs when there is fat tissue in the body that fights for oxygen. It needs oxygen and other nutrients in order to survive. This results in the heart working overtime, or at a 'high pressure'. The heart has to take on this burden of pumping extra blood through the arteries to reach the fat tissue.

Diabetes is another side-effect of being overweight. Type 2 diabetes in particular, which was predominately an adult health issue, is increasingly found in children. This is because more and more children suffer from obesity. Diabetes occurs when the body no longer recognizes the insulin produced within the body. This is the hormone that functions as the blood sugar regulator in the body.

A condition called sleep apnea occurs when a person is sleeping and for short periods throughout the sleep they stop breathing. This causes uncomfortable sleep, and fatigue during the day. This can also be a side effect to high blood pressure.

Women are especially prone to increased chances of cancer when they are overweight. Chances of getting exposed to breast, colon, gallbladder and uterus cancer are all increased when overweight. Living a healthy lifestyle and losing weight gradually can offset all of these increased chances for disease.

Losing weight can be a vital vehicle of prevention. Create a program that will help you gradually lose the weight. Going through this process gradually will help you maintain any weight that you lose. Why? Because when you lose weight slowly you are probably breaking bad habits, which will stick with you - as opposed to looking for quick weight loss fixes. Feel free to reprint this article only if you keep it intact and include the Author resource box.