In new research published it has been found that losing weight benefits your heart in the long term, even if you regain some of those pounds in the future.
The results may come as good news to those who have struggled to maintain their weight loss and are worried about the dangers they believed would come with gaining it back.
In the recent analysis, data from 124 clinical studies with a combined total of over 50,000 individuals were evaluated. The researchers discovered that individuals who lost weight through rigorous cognitive programs had lower cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes risk factors. Even though some of the weight returned, the reduced risk continued long after they finished the programs.
Diet professor and co-author of the study, Susan Jebb, stated, “The whole time your weight is less than it would otherwise have been, your risk factors for heart disease are lower than they would have been.”
As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2 in 5 people living in the country are obese, and heart disease is the leading cause of mortality, accounting for nearly 700,000 deaths in 2020.
The new study included experiments that had minimum follow-up spans of one year and examined how behavioral weight management programs, such as those that included mentoring, instruction, and counseling, affected risk factors for heart disease. The trials had a 28-month median follow-up.
The studies that were reviewed compared participants who took part in such rigorous weight reduction regimens to those who pursued less rigorous regimens or no regimen at all. The research also included intermittent fasting, partial or complete meal replacement, dietary or exercise treatments, or both, as well as monetary incentives to lose weight.
Trial participant details:
- The average weight loss throughout the included trials was 5 to 10 pounds.
- The mean weight gain each year ranged from 0.26 to 0.7 pounds.
- The participants were obese at the beginning since their average BMI was 33.
- The mean age was 51.
Results:
Those in intensive programs saw improvements in a number of heart disease risk variables when compared to the control groups. Improvements included positive changes in systolic blood pressure, the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio, and HbA1c, which indicates blood sugar levels.
Jebb agreed that the benefits brought on by weight reduction do start to fade when a person regains weight, but at least for a while, people’s bodies aren’t under as much metabolic stress. That may be sufficient to postpone the beginning of diabetes, which is very advantageous for your heart.
Overall results indicated a decreased risk of heart attack and diabetes, but there is fewer data on these outcomes since most investigations don’t follow up for an extended period, according to Jebb.
Dr. Sean Heffron, a preventive cardiologist, concurred that more data is still required on the long-term effects of the outcomes that matter most, namely heart attacks, strokes, and death. Having said that, the findings are still in line with most doctors observe clinically in terms of cardiovascular risk factors, he added.
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