Health Benefits Associated with Weight Loss

Obesity continues to be a major challenge, nationally and globally. However, the prevalence of obesity in the United States is higher than in any other country¹ Obesity brings with it several risk factors, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea, PCOS, chronic kidney disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and many more. That said, co-morbid conditions and even the rate of mortality can be decreased with minimal to moderate weight loss. On an even brighter note, with most co-morbid conditions, the greater the weight loss, the greater the improvement!

Let's take a moment to look at a few co-morbid conditions and show that even a little bit of weight loss can make improvements. When it comes to everyone's weight loss journey, seeing and celebrating the non-scale victories are just as important.

Weight Loss Effects on Type II Diabetes

Losing weight can help prevent and improve type II diabetes. Even a modest, 6.7% weight reduction has been shown in two different studies to decrease the incidence of type II diabetes by 58%. In addition, diabetes incidence was reduced in all races, sexes, ages, and levels of obesity². No matter who you are, losing even a little bit of weight can help you prevent type II diabetes.

The Look AHEAD study took over 5000 type II diabetics and examined their weight loss and effects on their diabetes. Even the participants with 5% weight loss (but greater than or equal to 2%) saw an improvement in their fasting glucose and Hemoglobin A1c. In addition, the greater the weight loss, the greater their outcomes. It should be noted these improvements with weight loss came while the participants DECREASED their diabetic medications as needed²

Effects of Weight Loss on Cardiovascular Disease Risks

The Look AHEAD study also showed benefits on more than just type II diabetes. When it came to effects of cardiovascular risk, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure (the first number in blood pressure readings) started to improve from 2% - 5% weight loss. HDL cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure (second number on the blood pressure reading) began to improve with 5% - 10% weight loss. All these risk factors continued to show improvement as weight loss continued².

Weight Loss Effects on Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Weight loss needs to be a little more substantial to help improve Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), but it's still achievable. One interesting thing with OSA and weight loss is that even with a little bit of weight regain, OSA remained in remission for some participants². The Look AHEAD study included a sub-study called Sleep AHEAD. This examined the sleep apnea changes observed from an Intensive Lifestyle Intervention vs. diabetes support and education. An Intensive Lifestyle Intervention (ILI) is defined as including at least 6 months of high-intensity, comprehensive lifestyle intervention, consisting of a reduced calorie diet, increase in physical activity, and behavior therapy³. At the 1-year mark, remission of OSA was 3 times more common in the ILI group. To see an improvement in OSA, a weight loss of at least 10kg (~22lbs) was needed.

These are just a few co-morbid conditions improved by minimal to moderate weight loss. There is also data showing improvements in PCOS, osteoarthritis, Non-alcoholic steatotic hepatitis (NASH), depression, urinary stress incontinence, and many more! It’s never too late to pursue weight loss, and don’t be discouraged by minimal weight loss. Even those few pounds are improving your health from the inside out.

References:

1. Mechanick, Jeffrey I. “AACE/TOS/ASMBS/OMA/ASA 2019 Guidelines.” Endocrine Practice, vol. 25, no. 12, 2019, doi:10.4158/GL-2019-0406.GL.
2. Ryan, D. H., MD, FTOS, & Yockey, S. R., MD, FACOG. (2017). Weight Loss and Improvement in Comorbidity: Differences at 5%, 10%, 15% and Over. Curr Obes Rep, 6(2), 187-194. doi:10.1007/s13679-017-0262-y
3. Webb, V. L., & Wadden, T. A. (2017). Intensive Lifestyle Intervention for Obesity: Principles, Practices, and Results. Gastroenterology, 152(7), 1752-1764. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2017.01.045

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