Losing weight cuts the risk of heart attacks and type 2 diabetes — even if you put it back on, researchers say
Losing weight can reduce the risk of heart attacks and type 2 diabetes, even if you put some back on.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found that those who lost the pounds still enjoyed health benefits five years later, even if they regained some of the weight.
Weight loss programs – such as the NHS soup and shake diet – can help people lose and maintain a healthy weight by encouraging lifestyle changes.
But regaining some weight when the help and advice stops is common.
Scientists wanted to test whether the subsequent health benefits of losing weight, such as lowered blood pressure, persisted after the interventions were completed.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found that those who shed the pounds were still enjoying health benefits five years later
They combined the results of 124 studies involving more than 50,000 participants who had participated in dietary or exercise interventions, such as meal replacements, intermittent fasting, or received financial incentives to lose weight.
Participants were 51 years old on average, with a body mass index of 33, which is considered obese.
On average, people lost between 5 and 10 pounds (2-5 kg), while weight gain was typically up to 0.7 pounds (0.32 kg) per year.
Compared to those who followed a less intensive program and those who did not follow a weight loss program, participants who lost weight through an intensive weight loss program had lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
These lower risk factors lasted at least five years after the weight loss program ended, according to findings published in the journal American Heart Association.
Those who lost weight were found to have lower systolic blood pressure — pressure in the arteries when the heart beats — and lower levels of “bad” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
Levels of HbA1c, a protein in red blood cells used to test for diabetes, were reduced by 0.26 percent both one and five years after participating in an intensive weight loss program, researchers found.
This suggests that the reduced risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes also seemed to remain lower even after gaining weight, they said.
Professor Susan Jebb, from the University of Oxford and co-author of the study, said: ‘For people who are overweight or obese, losing weight is an effective way to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.’
She added: ‘Our findings should provide reassurance that weight loss programs are effective in managing cardiovascular risk factors and very likely to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease.’