We can all use more facts as motivation to lose weight.
In fact this is one case in dieting where more is better.
So to add to your, hopefully, ever growing list of reasons to lose weight, here's another, especially if you enjoy moving.
According to research coming from the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, those who carry extra weight early in life increase their risk of developing problems with mobility in old age.
And what is even more disheartening is that even if the weight is eventually lost, the risk is still there.
The reason that dropping the weight later in life did not help was because the weight loss was usually involuntary and the result of an underlying chronic condition.
The report was even more disturbing for women.
For those in the study who were overweight or obese from there mid-20s to their 70s, the researchers reported that they were three times more likely to develop mobility problems than women with normal weight.
For men, the risk, at 1.
6, was slightly less.
The researchers said that the reason why the extra weight is so bad is that it can strain joints and hinder exercise.
They also said that it may lead to other chronic conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease, all of which are related to mobility.
All is not lost though.
The researchers also said that intervention to prevent overweight and obesity in young and middle-aged adults may be useful in delaying or even preventing the onset of mobility limitations that may occur in older adults.
Hopefully these findings of the dire results of being overweight will provide you with more motivation to reach your weight loss goals.
Because, in this case, losing weight increases your chances that you will still be active in your golden years of old age.