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Six Immediate Health Benefits You Will See If You Lose a Little Weight

Image of A soldier assigned to the 256th Combat Support Hospital, Twinsburg, Ohio, drinks water from a gallon-sized jug during Combat Support Training Exercise 18-03 at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, March 26, 2018. The 256th CSH implemented a goal setting competition, dubbed Dandy Camp, to teach and encourage soldiers to monitor their total carbohydrate intake during the field exercise. The overall goal of Dandy Camp is to educate soldiers about healthy eating choices and encourage soldiers to set and meet goals for themselves. . A soldier assigned to the 256th Combat Support Hospital, Twinsburg, Ohio, drinks water from a gallon-sized jug during Combat Support Training Exercise 18-03 at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, March 26, 2018. The 256th CSH implemented a goal setting competition, dubbed Dandy Camp, to teach and encourage soldiers to monitor their total carbohydrate intake during the field exercise. The overall goal of Dandy Camp is to educate soldiers about healthy eating choices and encourage soldiers to set and meet goals for themselves. Photo by Army Sgt. First Class Debra Richardson

Did you know that dropping just 10 pounds of body weight takes 40 pounds of pressure off your knees? That's equivalent to not carrying around a cinder block.

Losing even a little weight now can have a major impact on your health and quality of life. This long list of benefits might help motivate you to adjust your habits to achieve a happier, healthier lifestyle.

Reduce Blood Pressure

Eating more nutritious foods and drinking more water can reduce high blood pressure, and its risk of stroke and heart attack. Nearly half of service members diagnosed as overweight or obese are also diagnosed with hypertension, Defense Health Agency data shows.

Reduce Joint and Back Pain

Carrying less body weight will reduce stress on your entire body. DHA data shows that one in five overweight service members reports lower back pain.

Women's Health

Obesity can also have significant consequences for women's reproductive systems, including menstrual disorders, infertility, miscarriage, and poor pregnancy outcomes. If you plan to get pregnant, now's the time to shed some weight.

Better Sleep

The more weight you lose, the less likely you are to snore or have sleep apnea, where your breathing actually stops for short periods of time throughout the night. You might even get to stop using your C-PAP device.

DHA data finds that 1 in 4 service members who are overweight share a diagnosis of sleep disorder like apnea and snoring.

The result of better sleep? You're less fatigued, have more energy, and a happier bedroom partner.

Reduced Risk of Diabetes

Another bonus of losing weight? Your chances of developing prediabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes drop significantly as your blood sugars drop.

Mood improvements

As you take more control of your weight, you may see a decrease in symptoms of depression and an improvement in self-image.

Finally, you likely will reduce the anxiety that hovers over you knowing that you're going to have to pass that fitness test.

How to Start

So get started. Talk to a nutritionist, dietitian, or physical trainer about getting your weight loss plan in place. In the long run, finding and sustaining a healthy weight lowers your risk of serious chronic diseases. Now's the best time to start.

Pro Tip 1: Drink More Water

What should be your first step and how quickly can that help you? The answer is as simple as drinking more water.

Drinking water throughout the day fills you up, lubricates your joints, improves your skin, eliminates toxins faster, and helps with digestion. No more acid reflux, also known as GERD, or eating handfuls of antacids like candy!

Start carrying water with you at all times and sip it until you need a refill. Then do it all again.

Making this one change can help with joint pain which comes with being overweight, as well as reducing arthritis symptoms.

Pro Tip 2: Start Small

The best advice from nutritionists is to start small and then make more changes as your health improves.

Start with a specific, measurable goal that is achievable within a short period of time. That will make it relevant to you.

For example, try to lose 5% of your body weight, dropping 1 or 2 pounds a week. For a 230-pound man, that's about 11-1/2 pounds.

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Pelvic Health Rehabilitation: A Mission Critical Resource that Enables Military Readiness

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6/7/2023
U.S. Army Lt Col. (Dr.) Leigh Anne Lechanski, department chief of rehabilitation at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, guides a patient through a pelvic floor muscle exercise training session using a surface electromyography biofeedback system. This intervention gives patients a visual aid and objective information about muscle activation in the pelvic floor structures. (Courtesy Photo)

Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction can present with symptoms such as pelvic pain, incontinence, constipation, abdominal weakness, and pelvic organ prolapse. These conditions can significantly impact female service members' physical and emotional health.

Military Health System Confronts Stigma Surrounding Mental Health Care

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Military Health System Confronts Stigma Surrounding Mental Health Care

Stigma can be a barrier to a service member seeking support for their mental health. Recognizing mental health as part of overall health and changing attitudes are keys to addressing it.

U.S. Space Force Details Holistic Health Approach, Continuous Fitness Assessment Study

Article Around MHS
6/5/2023
The U.S. Space Force becomes the first service component to use wearables to keep track of their Guardians fitness and other measures of readiness, with the introduction of the holistic health approach. (Graphic by U.S. Space Force)

The U.S. Space Force is implementing a holistic health approach for uniformed Guardians, including a voluntary two-year continuous fitness assessment study to assess and validate a new fitness concept using wearable devices for the service.

Confidential Mental Health Resources Available to Military Families

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“Checking in on your mental health can be as easy as making an appointment with a mental health professional, such as a therapist or psychiatrist – and that can be done face to face or virtually,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Anna Fedotova, mental health flight commander, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Mental Health Stigma Campaign Will Be New Hub of Hope

Article
5/31/2023
Mental Health Stigma Campaign Will Be New Hub of Hope

The Real Warriors Campaign expanding via partnership with the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.

Good Sleep is Key to Heart Health

Article
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How regularly you sleep, not just the length of sleep, has a connection to your heart health.

Walter Reed Expert Shares Five Ways to Prioritize Mental Health

Article Around MHS
5/26/2023
Dr. Diaz discusses the importance of mental fitness with U.S. Army Pvt. 2 Kaliyah Rowan at the Mental Fitness Information table during Staff Resiliency Week at Walter Reed. Diaz says prioritizing mental health is key to building resilience, and shared five ways staff members can do just that in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. (Photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jesse Sharpe, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center)

In today's fast-paced health care environment, it's more important than ever to prioritize mental health to build resilience, and in honor of National Mental Health Awareness Month and Staff Resiliency Week at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Dr. Kristine Diaz, a personnel psychologist, shares five ways staff members can prioritize their mental health to unlock resilience.

TRICARE Preventive Health Benefits Women Should Know

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5/25/2023
TRICARE Preventive Health Benefits Women Should Know

Eating well, exercising often, and getting enough sleep are habits that can help you live your healthiest life. And when it comes to feeling and staying well, getting preventive health care is also a must.

5 Tips To Start a Conversation About Getting Mental Health Care

Article
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“How are you?” It’s a question almost everyone answers every day. Like most, your usual response is probably, “Fine, thanks. How are you?” But if you really think about it, are you fine? Maybe you haven’t been yourself in a while. You’re feeling sad, stressed, lonely, or just not how you want to feel. You’d like to start feeling better but aren’t sure where to start.

New Mental Health Care Initiative Improves Access to Care and Readiness

Article Around MHS
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A room plaque for the 341st Operational Medical Readiness Squadron mental health flight is pictured inside the base clinic June 23, 2021, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. The mental health flight offers mental health services to active duty members and manages the Family Advocacy and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment programs. (U.S. Air Force photo by Heather Heiney)

For more than a year, the Air Force Medical Service has been rolling out Mental Health Targeted Care, an initiative that helps Airmen and Guardians understand all of the available options for support and connects them to the right resource either in a mental health clinic or outside the military hospital with another supporting agency that best meets their need.

Changes in Behavior, Personality or Mood Following Concussion/mTBI Fact Sheet

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This TBICoE fact sheet can be used by health care providers to educate patients with a concussion, or mild TBI, on how to manage changes in mood related to their injury. Patients and caregivers would also find this information useful.

Walk-in Contraception Services at Military Medical Treatment Facilities

DHA Publication
2/8/2023

Policy Number: 6025.09

Establishes DHA's procedures for implementation of walk-in contraception services at all Military Medical Treatment Facilities, for Active Duty members of the Armed Forces and for eligible beneficiaries of the Military Health System on a space available basis.

Targeted Care Pilot Aims to Match Demand for Mental Health Care

Article
5/17/2023
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The DHA Targeted Care Pilot deployed to 10 sites in April 2023. The pilot, lasting six months, aims to alleviate the strained mental health system by matching service members to the care they need—wherever they are on a spectrum of mental health issues. Following the pilot, DHA will review results for the purpose of further refinement, continuation, and potential expansion.

Working Together to Improve Black Maternal Health

Article Around MHS
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The Mother Infant Care Center team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center ensures patients receive safe, high-quality care, equitable, culturally diverse and inclusive care as a leader in advanced childbirth health care, according to WRNMMC Chief of Staff Navy Capt. (Dr.) Kelly Elmore, an OB/GYN. WRNMMC celebrated Black Maternal Health Week during April 11-17. (Photo by Aisha Lomax, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center)

“Black Maternal Health Week is a reminder that so many families experience pain, neglect, and loss during what should be one of the most joyous times of their lives. It is an urgent call for action,” states a proclamation signed by President Joe Biden in observance of Black Maternal Health Week 2023, observed April 11-17.

MHS Video On Sexual Assault in the Military

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Ms. Seileen Mullen, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, stopped by DHA headquarters to discuss everyone's role in preventing sexual harassment and assault and DHA's unique role in treating patients after sexual trauma. Sexual assault is a real problem within our military. Everyone in the military community can play a role in preventing this crime and creating a zero-tolerance atmosphere that supports survivors. Visiting the Safe Helpline website for more information or to talk to a counselor. https://safehelpline.org/

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Last Updated: January 31, 2023
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