It can be a real struggle to wrestle off extra weight! But is weight loss worth it? Do the studies actually confirm that cutting pounds translates into obvious health benefits? And if so, what are they? We scoured expert guidelines and well-known scientific articles so you wouldn’t have to... It turns out that losing approximately 5 to 10% of your body weight has been associated with fantastic and measurable improvements in health and well-being! So, a 5 to 10% weight loss doesn’t sound too hard, but just how much weight would YOU need to lose to get healthier? Keep it simple. Take your weight and multiply by 0.1 to calculate a 10% drop. Divide that number in half to get 5%. For example, a 200-pound person would have to lose 20 pounds for a 10% loss, or 10 pounds to lose 5%.
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Benefits of Weight Loss On...
Blood Pressure
A 5 to 10% weight loss can DRIVE down blood pressure in a major way. In fact, both the systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure levels will drop an average of five millimeters of mercury. Let’s break that down more. For every two pounds of weight loss, blood pressure will drop by one millimeter of mercury.For those on medications to treat high blood pressure, shedding approximately 15 to 20 pounds can replace a blood pressure medication.
References:
Wing RR,et al. Benefits of modest weight loss in improving cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011; 34:1481–1486
Staessen J, Fagard R, Amery A. The relationship between body weight and blood pressure. J Hum Hypertens. 1988;2(4):207-17.
Cholesterol
In the famous LOOK AHEAD study, a 5 to 10% weight loss raised healthy cholesterol (what doctors call HDL) five points. It also lowered fatty triglycerides in the blood an average of 40 mg/dL and helped to decrease the necessary doses of cholesterol medications.
References:
Wing RR, et al. Benefits of modest weight loss in improving cardiovascular risk factors in overweight andobese individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011; 34:1481–1486.
Sleep Apnea
In the frequently referenced Sleep AHEAD study, a weight loss of 10% or more was associated with cutting the obstructive sleep apnea rate in half. To really sock it to sleep apnea, those people studied needed to lose over 20 pounds.
References:
Foster GD, et al. A randomized study on the effect of weight loss on obstructive sleep apnea among obese patients with Type 2 Diabetes: The Sleep AHEAD Study. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Sep; 169(17):28. 1619–1626
Diabetes
In the American Diabetes Prevention Program, those patients at risk for developing diabetes lost an average of 6.7% of body weight and SMASHED their chances of developing diabetes by almost 60%! If you already have diabetes, drops in fasting sugar and average glucose control over three months (A1c levels) start with as little as a 2% weight loss. Of course, the greater the number, the bigger the benefit to blood sugar control.
References:
Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of Type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002; 346:393–403
Wing RR, et al. Benefits of modest weight loss in improving cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011; 34:1481–1486.
Arthritis
About one-half of Americans will experience arthritis in at least one knee during their lifetime. Weight loss of just 5% can improve knee pain and walking and stair-climbing abilities.For every one pound of weight you lose, there is a four-fold decrease in load on your knee EVERY TIME you take a step!
References:
Messier SP, et al. Exercise and dietary weight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis. the Arthritis, Diet, and Activity Promotion Trial. ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM. 2004; 50(5):1501–1510
Fatty Liver
A 5% weight loss can reduce the amount of fat deposited in your liver by 13%, while a little more than 10% weight loss can cut that amount in half. While fat deposition drops in the liver even at smaller amounts of weight loss, it seems that it takes at least 10% to cut back the rate of inflammation in the liver caused by fat.
References:
Magkos F, et al. Effects of moderate and subsequent progressive weight loss on metabolic function and adipose tissue biology in humans with obesity. Cell Metabolism. 2016; 23:1–11
Promrat K, et al. Randomized controlled trial testing the effects of weight loss on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Hepatology. 2010; 51(1):121–129
Early Death
The most well-referenced study examining the cardiovascular benefits of weight loss was terminated early. Unfortunately, after an average of ten years of follow-up, there was no improvement in mortality in the group who initially lost at least 7% of their body weight. However, a later analysis of people in that same study who lost 10% or more of their body weight revealed a 20% reduction in major heart events. While this type of analysis is not the gold standard, it does suggest the need for more extreme weight loss to decrease the chances of dying from a heart attack.
References:
Pi-Sunyer X. The Look AHEAD Trial: A Review and Discussion Of Its Outcomes.Curr Nutr Rep. 2014;3(4):387-391. doi:10.1007/s13668-014-0099-x
Look AHEAD Research Group. Association of the magnitude of weight loss and changes in physical fitness with long-term cardiovascular disease outcomes in overweight or obese people with type 2 diabetes: a post-hoc analysis of the Look AHEAD randomised clinical trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2016 Nov; 4(11):913–921
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