Losing Small Amount of Weight Can Make Big Difference

If losing weight this upcoming year is one of your resolutions, you’ll be happy to hear that shedding just a modest amount of weight can make a big difference in your health.

Researchers found that middle-aged women were able to reduce their their risk for heart disease and diabetes over a two-year span by dropping 10 percent of their body weight.

In a study of 417 women participating in weight loss programs for up to 24 months, those who sustained a 10 percent or more loss of their body weight for two years reduced their total cholesterol, LDL “bad” cholesterol, HDL “good” cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, glucose and inflammation markers, according to a news release from the American Heart Association. Women who were at greatest risk at the start of the study benefitted the most from modest weight loss.

“It is challenging to lose weight, but if women commit to losing 10 percent of their body weight and sustain that over time, it can have a large impact on overall risk factors associated with heart disease and diabetes,” said Registered Dietition and study co-author Cynthia A. Thomson, Ph.D. The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The women, an average 44 years old and weighing nearly 200 pounds at the start of the study, were recruited within the communities of the University of California, San Diego; University of Minnesota; University of Arizona; and Kaiser Permanente Center Northwest in Portland, Ore.

Women in their forties often gain weight because they have sedentary jobs – like so many people who work in an office environment – and have possibly gained weight from previous pregnancies. Menopause can add even more pounds. In the end, a large percent of middle-aged American women find themselves weighing much more in their forties than they weighed in their teens, Thomson said

Women in short-term weight loss programs usually do better with weight loss in the first six months. After that, they start to gain the weight back, researchers said.

“Our study revealed the need for healthcare providers to provide women with longer-term support for weight control. It seems to pay off in terms of modifying risk factors for obesity-related disease,” Thomson said.

“The good news is that when you lose weight long-term, you just don’t move to a smaller dress size, you are actually moving these risk factors markedly and likely reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes,” Thomson said.

Source: American Heart Association news release

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