Lose Weight, Reduce Your Risk?

Another good reason to skip dessert: Your health. Photo: sxc.hu

Last week, a flurry of studies reminded us that there are a lot of good reasons to stay fit, and not one of them has to do with looking good in your skinny jeans (though that doesn't hurt):

• The first study, from Virginia Commonwealth University, discovered that weight-loss surgery can lead to long-term control of type 2 diabetes. Ninety percent of patients in the study had normal blood sugar levels within a year, and over half maintained that control 15 years later.
• A second study out of Sweden found that women who had bariatric surgery reduced their risk of obesity-related cancers. (Men, however, did not benefit from losing weight.) In the past, obesity has been linked to certain cancers, and this study strengthened the notion that losing weight -- for women, at least -- can reduce that risk.
• A third study found that being overweight as a young adult increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, while being obese in middle age can reduce a person's chance of surviving the disease.

The picture that's being painted here is that losing excess fat -- or better yet, not gaining it in the first place -- probably has a protective effect against certain diseases. And if you are already overweight and suffering from a chronic illness, losing the weight might just relieve your symptoms.

Take Tammey Burns, who Maggie wrote about on Tuesday. Burns lost an amazing 410 pounds, but along with that extra weight, she also dropped nine of her 12 medical diagnoses. And one that she kept -- diabetes -- no longer requires any medication.

It's all a good reminder that while being fit might help you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror, you're also giving your body everything it needs to be around for a long, long time.