Those who are overweight could be headed for a fall

I recently read a report about weight loss that kind of took me on a, well, trip down memory lane.

Considering the article's subject was about falling, it wasn't a particularly pleasant stumble, er, stroll, either.

So, what in the world do falling and weight loss have to do with one another, you might wonder?

Plenty. Trust me. And I'm not just talking figuratively here — you know, about pounds falling off your body or even falling off the dieting bandwagon.

According to an American College of Sports Medicine study by Michael Madigan, Ph.D., obese people fall more often than their lighter-weight counterparts because their balance is out of whack.

Having a big body and balance issues has been a painful combo for me on way more than one occasion in the past.

I've always tried to turn my falls into comedy fodder, but it's pretty embarrassing to take a plunge in public, truth be told. It can also be dangerous. Madigan found that obese people fall almost twice as much as those in the normal weight range, which is alarming because he says falls also are "the most common cause of injury for the obese."

The good news, though, is that the doctor claims even a small weight loss (even only 10 percent) can help improve balance and reduce risks associated with falling.

Reading this, it occurred to me that I don't fall as much as when I hauled 100-plus more pounds around. Hallelujah! Looking and feeling better are big benefits of dropping pounds, but not falling is an overlooked and great side effect of weight loss. My knees, elbows and pants — not to forget sidewalks and floors across the valley — should send me thank-you cards. People in my path should, too.

Though I didn't consider myself a klutz when I was 150 or so pounds overweight, I really was. The weight on my 5-foot-8 body would often keep on shifting and swaying after I'd make my initial move. This created problems because my mind and at least one foot would occasionally want to go right, but the other 300 pounds of my body would go left.

And down goes Jody!

And the Richter Scale goes bonkers!

Darn all those laws of gravity and motion, especially the acceleration and displacement being stopped by an external force part. (Don't blame me or my high school science teacher if I got those physics rules wrong, blame Wikipedia.)

A couple of my missteps stick out more than others.

One time during my single years, I was crossing a street with a friend — one who happened to be of the cute, female variety. We were walking, laughing and ... next thing I know, SPLAT! Jody's on the ground. I rolled over onto the snow and tried to laugh off my biting-the-dust moment by making a snow angel. We chuckled, but it was humiliating.