Historical and social reasons. Obesity is from the Latin obesitas, which means "stout, fat, or plump". The Greeks were the first to recognize obesity as a medical disorder. Many cultures throughout history have viewed obesity as a flaw. In modern Western culture, excess weight is often regarded as unattractive, and obesity is commonly associated with various negative stereotypes. Some argue that obesity is a moral and ideological construct, rather than a health problem. I.e. society makes you believe that being fat is bad. Often no intelligent explanation can be given - just bad and that's that.

Obese people are less likely to be hired for a job and are less likely to be promoted. is this a discrimination? Not exactly - that's understandable as obese workers have higher rates absenteeism from work and take more disability leave, thus increasing costs for employers and decreasing productivity.

Such negative social perception of obesity (and subsequently, obese people's self-perception) leads to the popuraity of weight loss topic.

Medical reasons. Hippocrates stated that "Corpulence is not only a disease itself, but the harbinger of others". It's so true.

A large number of physical and mental conditions have been associated with obesity, which often include diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Obesity is related to a variety of other complications as well. I don't really have the space to enumerate all of them, but I believe the list of medical fields where these complications can manifest themselves would suffice to scare a lot out of anyone:

* Cardiology

* Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine

* Neurology

* Psychiatry

* Rheumatology and Orthopedics

* Dermatology

* Gastrointestinal

* Oncology

* Respirology

* Urology and Nephrology

Now, can you see any medical field which is not listed here? Seems like obesity leaves it's mark on each and every part of your body, and not only body suffers but your mental health also. Scary, isn't it? And now imagine how the obese people (fortunately enough, not all of them) feel each and every morning? How is that when you have a difficulty doing all the casual things other non-obese people don't even notice doing - breathing, moving, lacing your own shoes, trying to scratch your back, etc.

Now, do you see why so many people are on their own crusade searching for weight loss holy grail? Will they find their relief?

Well, firstly, not all of overweight people are looking to shed their extra pounds. People's perceptions of what is a healthy weight have changed towards accepting of extra body fat as being normal - to some definite extent, naturally. People who do not attribute any harmful health changes to their extra weight usually follow the rule "if it ain't broken, don't fix it".

As for those who are looking to lose weight - there are so many options that they would definately find the one which suits them best. Only if they want to find and have enough time and will for looking, and then for following whatever method they found. Basically, my own classification includes the following major directions: eliminate the cause of extra weight (overeating, wrong food, sedentiary life style), eliminate the consequences of the causes enumerated earlier - that is, burn the body fat; or both directions at once - eliminate the causes and the fat. Each method has its ardent followers and not less ardent opposition.

My conclusion - as always and as in anything - it's you who has to decide. There's plenty of info about weight loss, you decide which way to follow and what you are going to do with your life, your health and your body.