People who have obesity and lose weight through behavioural weight loss programmes have lower risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes years later, despite regaining some weight
By Grace Wade
28 March 2023
Exercise and diet changes can lead to health benefits that remain even if weight loss is reversed
Shutterstock / MR.SOMKIAT BOONSING
People who have obesity and regain weight lost through diet and exercise programmes still see long-term improvements in risk factors for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This suggests there are health benefits to losing weight even if you gain it back.
Weight loss reduces the risk of chronic diseases related to obesity. However, previous research has shown that about half of people with obesity who participate in weight loss programmes regain the lost weight within five years.
To understand the long-term health effects of this, Jamie Hartmann-Boyce at the University of Oxford and her colleagues collected data on more than 60,000 adults from 124 randomised controlled trials of behavioural weight management programmes. These programmes encourage changes to diet or exercise habits to affect weight loss.
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All the trials included data on one or more cardiometabolic measures – such as blood pressure, incidence of heart disease or cholesterol levels – at least 11 months after the programme’s end. Across trials, people who participated in behavioural weight management programmes lost, on average, 2.8 more kilograms of weight than people in control groups. They also regained 0.12 to 0.32 more kilograms each year after the programme ended.
People who participated in behavioural weight management programmes also saw small yet significant long-term reductions in cholesterol, blood sugar levels and blood pressure. Five years after ending a programme, participants’ cholesterol ratio – which compares total cholesterol with the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol – was an average of 1.5 points lower than before the programme. They also saw a statistically significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and blood sugar levels. There was evidence, however, that the more weight that is gained back over time, the smaller and shorter-lasting these improvements are.