Did you know that a whopping 93.3 million adults and 12 million children are obese? It’s a big problem here in America, but luckily, there are plenty of ways for these folks to get back into shape.

Healthy meal plans can be adopted, exercise routines can be set, and, in the most extreme cases, surgical intervention can be considered. It sure is great to live in a place where weight loss support is readily available, but there is another, much darker side that comes with losing weight.

You see, just because someone shed, say, 20 pounds, it doesn’t mean that their body is necessarily better off without the weight. This conundrum is because weight loss, especially the rapid kind, is known to contribute to a range of health problems.

Now, before we go any further, we do need to say that being overweight and, of course, obese can mean big issues for the body, especially over the long-term. According to the CDC, carrying excess weight can lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. In fact, the condition is considered to be the culprit for many preventable deaths in this country.

So, as you can see, keeping the weight on is surely not a healthy thing to do to the body, but the common American weight loss journey is not necessarily the healthiest either. This problem is because, when people become desperate, they turn to dangerous crash diet plans. Though these crash diet plans are rarely physician or dietitian-approved, they can be found all over the Internet and even in the pages of best-selling diet books.

Though crash diets – i.e. the ones that boast 10-or-20-pound weekly or monthly weight losses – might seem attractive, they can also lead to scary health problems, because the truth of the matter is, most participants end up only consuming only around 800 calories per day while on them. With this comes weight loss, sure, but also the heightened potential for heart attack, stroke, and a host of other illnesses.

For post-menopausal women, in particular, following crash diets can do a decent amount of damage to the body, especially in terms of bone health. This problem is because crash dieting doesn’t allow for the proper amount of vitamins and nutrients to be absorbed by the body. The key nutrients that women need at that age are vitamin D and calcium, two things that tend to go by the wayside when diet plans are adopted. When post-menopausal women don’t get enough of these nutrients, their bones can lose density, which can, ultimately, mean osteoporosis.

This is also true for exercising, as well. Women who either have osteoporosis or who are at risk for developing it should stay away from high-impact exercises, such as running, jumping, or jogging. In some cases, exercises that call for bending and twisting should be eliminated, too. Surprising, huh?

Now, don’t let the above information scare you away from losing the weight you need to lose! Luckily, there are plenty of healthy ways to shed the pounds that don’t hurt the body. To learn how you can get to a normal weight while still keeping your bones strong and intact, be sure to watch the video below.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on these weight loss-related dangers. Has losing weight ever compromised your health? If so, what happened? How have you managed to maintain a healthy weight?