Eating 500 calories a day and exercising for about 2 hours daily to burn off twice what you've consumed. But why would you want to put yourself through the agony and at a risk of ending up dead?

Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to lose weight. But whatever the reason, healthy weight loss brings innumerable benefits to the quality of one's life.

Loss of excess weight has been shown to reduce the risk of many forms of cancer, coronary heart disease and diabetes.

In overweight individuals who experience hypertension, gout, osteo-arthritis of the spine, hips, or knees, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, weight loss is helpful in decreasing pain and other associated side effects.

For most people, losing weight along with improved dietary habits can reduce cholesterol levels, improve blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and overall health.

Extensive research has shown that maintaining a recommended weight level can increase one's life expectancy.

Losing weight can help us look better, feel better and live a healthier, longer life.

Research shows that maintaining your ideal weight adds an average of 11 healthy years to your life.