Carrying around extra pounds influences your health and wellness in many more ways than you might imagine. Extra weight increases risk for everything from heart disease to gallstones and may have a negative impact on your sex life!

Do you need to lose 10, 15, 25 pounds or more? If carrying even the smaller amounts of 10 or 15 extra pounds may not seem like much, think again. Try lugging around with you an equivalent weight all day. How about a 10-pound sack of potatoes? See how you feel at the end of the day and imagine the impact this extra weight has on your body day after day.

Maybe you are already aware that the risk for heart disease and diabetes increases with weight gain. But did you know that extra weight also increases your risk for cancer? Being heavy or gaining a significant amount of weight as an adult increases your risk for postmenopausal breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, and kidney cancer.

Women who are overweight but not obese (more than 30-35% body fat) have a 34 % higher risk of dying of breast cancer than women who are normal weight for their age. According to recent research (2006) by the American Cancer Society as many as 90,000 deaths from cancer from all causes

might be prevented by maintaining normal weight.

Obesity also increases risk for stroke, hypertension, acid reflux disease, gallstones, osteoarthritis, and the formation of blood clots in the legs (that could travel to the lungs or elsewhere).

Modern medicine has actually lessened but not eliminated the risk for heart disease for those who are overweight. But there are limits. Drugs may reduce risk but not bring someone to the same level of good health as those individuals without risk factors such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. And drugs often carry the risk of unwelcome side effects.

If all this seems depressing, there is some good news! Losing as little as 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight can be very beneficial. For someone who is 160 pounds, 5 percent would be only 8 pounds. 10 percent would be 16 pounds. So 8 to 16 pounds might be enough to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, risk factors for heart disease and diabetes.

In addition, a ten percent loss of weight may be just what the doctor ordered for your sex life! According to recent research by scientists at Duke University, study participants who lost as little as ten percent of their body weight claimed to have significant improvements in their sex life!

Most of the 187 participants in the study were women who reported having more sexual problems at the beginning of the study then half way through. After a year the number of women who felt sexually unattractive dropped from 68% to 28%. The weight loss seemed to lessen their fears about being seen naked and increased their desire and sexual enjoyment.

So consider this...You might choose to lose those extra pounds for your health and experience fewer serious medical problems as you age. Plus you'll not only look better and feel better now but you might enjoy more... well, you know...

Lori Pirog, M.S. is a Nutritionist who shares her knowledge of healthy eating and weight management in her articles, blogs, and websites. To learn more about weight loss, diets, nutrition, and exercise for women visit: http://womenandweight.com/blog/.