For people who are obese, weight loss is a crucial part of reducing the risk of heart problems, arthritis and diabetes. Choosing the right path to weight loss is also important.

For obese diabetes patients, surgery to lose weight has become an increasingly popular way to improve their health. Some have experienced long-term remission and reduced their medication use.

People with sleep apnea experience pauses in their breathing or shallow breaths while they sleep. In adults, the condition has been linked to diabetes and heart disease, but that link is less clear in younger people with sleep apnea.

Diabetes patients who are overweight or obese are often advised to lose weight. Doing so may not only help them control diabetes, but can also protect the heart. But is that protection long-lasting?

Depression is thought of as a mental disorder, but it can affect the rest of the body too. Having symptoms of depression may be linked to risks for other diseases.

For obese patients with diabetes, surgery that promotes weight loss may improve blood glucose levels, blood pressure and cholesterol, but the long-term results are debatable.

While losing weight through exercise and eating healthy can help people control diabetes, gastric bypass surgery can offer dramatic results for those with mild or moderate obesity.

Patients who have obstructive sleep apnea are at higher risk for a range of health concerns. If the patient is obese, one way to improve symptoms of sleep apnea may be to lose weight.

In recent decades, obesity rates among children and teens have skyrocketed, putting many young people at risk of diabetes. Research has suggested that a lack of vitamin D may play a role in this risk.

For obese individuals who have had trouble losing weight, gastric bypass surgery may be an effective option. For those who also have diabetes, the surgery may come with an added bonus—stopping diabetes.