Weighted down by a menu of cheap, high calorie foods and an abundance of lazy lifestyles, obesity has gotten it's meaty hands around the citizens of America. Along with extra girth around the waist comes many health risks and sometimes embarrassment. Imagine the humiliation of sitting in a chair and it collapses to the floor. So, of course, anyone can understand why losing weight is an important decision. However, deciding how to lose the weight is equally important. Some people associate losing weight with sweating it out at the gym while others think of going to the local drug store to pick up a prescription or over-the-counter diet pills. Either way, many people get discouraged when trying to lose weight. It is a long process that takes time and determination. It does not happen overnight. After choosing to lose weight, the next step is to indicate how you will do so. Whether deciding to lose weight through hard work and exercise or from the use of diet pills, it is important to weigh the risks and benefits of each method. Both exercise and diet pills can have immediate health risks. Exercise can put a large amount of stress on the body. Exercising can have many effects, with dehydration as one. Dehydration is dryness resulting in the removal of water. Sweating is the removal of water from the body. Therefore, sweating causes dehydration. This means plenty of water should be consumed when exercising. Also an exercise schedule should be created to avoid overworking the body. A strained or torn muscle could be the result of working your body too hard. Because you cannot work out if you strain or tear a muscle, it delays the weight loss process. Diet pills have several side effects. These side effects range from mild to severe. Cramping, gas, and diarrhea are a few mild effects caused from diet pills. More severe effects include increase heart rate and blood pressure. The ingredients in some diet pills do not agree with some people