Exercise and dietary changes may maintain health benefits even when weight loss is reversed
SHUTTERSTOCK / MR.SOMKIAT BOONSING
Even people who are obese and regain the weight they lost through diet and exercise programs have seen long-term improvements in risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This suggests that even if the weight is put back on, there are health benefits to losing weight.
Weight loss reduces the risk of chronic diseases associated with obesity. However, previous studies have shown that about half of obese people who participate in weight loss programs regain the weight they lost within five years.
To understand this long-term health impact, Jamie Hartmann-Boyce and her colleagues at the University of Oxford collected data on over 60,000 adults from 124 randomized controlled trials of behavioral weight management programs. bottom. These programs encourage changes in diet and exercise habits to influence weight loss.
All trials included data on one or more cardiometabolic measurements, including blood pressure, heart disease incidence, and cholesterol levels, at least 11 months after completing the program. Across the trial, those who participated in the behavioral weight management program lost, on average, 2.8 kilograms more than those in the control group. After completing the program, they regained 0.12 to 0.32 kilograms each year.
People who participated in a behavioral weight management program experienced small but significant long-term reductions in cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. was also 1.5 points lower on average. They also saw statistically significant reductions in systolic blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
“The real impact of this on a population level suggests that fewer people may be hospitalized for a range of illnesses. [cardiometabolic] Hartmann-Boyce said: However, the research team found no statistically significant difference in the incidence of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes between those who participated in the weight-loss program and those who did not five years after him. Did. This may be because few studies have collected data on these results, he says, Hartmann-Boyce.
Still, the fact that there was a small shift in risk factors is significant, says Lauren Block of Northwell Health in New York. “Little things can make a big difference,” she says, in terms of whether a person needs to take one or more medications.
More research is needed to understand why the health benefits of weight loss are not fully reversed by weight loss. According to Block, improved diet and exercise can have positive health effects that are independent of weight loss. Hartmann-Boyce says weight loss can also delay the onset of health problems.
“If you’re gaining weight back, you’re not alone, first of all. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t without benefits,” she says.
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