People can lose weight for many reasons, perhaps intentionally through exercise training for a sports event, for health reasons, just to look better, or unintentionally as may occur because of an underlying disease. Weight loss refers to the loss of body fat (adipose tissue), fluid and/or lean mass. Lean mass are parts of your body without fat, such as bone mineral deposits, tendons, connective tissue and muscle.
People intentionally lose weight to:
- Become fitter
- Become healthier
- To look better
- To be eligible for a competition - such as a boxer who needs to lose a few pounds to be able to stay a middle weight, for example, or a racehorse jockey.
- To improve their job prospects - in some professions there is a limit on how much you can weigh
An obese or overweight individual with diabetes type 2 will usually have less severe symptoms if they can bring their weight down to normal levels for their height and age.
Negative Energy Balance - in order to lose weight you need to be exerting more energy than you are consuming, this is called a negative energy balance. If you are in a state of negative energy balance, your body will seek out stores of energy, such as fat or muscle to make up for the shortfall - it will start using up your excess weight. In extreme cases, however, when the individual has little fat, more muscle and lean tissue will be used up.
Sports - some sportsmen and sportswomen will try to lose weight even though doctors would say their bodyweight is ideal. In some cases it might be to get better speeds, or as mentioned above, to be within a weight classification for a competition.
Losing too much weight - if you become underweight there are also certain health risks. Your chances of developing infections might increase, there is a risk of osteoporosis, reduced muscle mass and strength, and problems regulating your body temperature. There may even be a higher risk of death if your weight goes down a lot.
