Midlife weight loss does not significantly reduce a person's risk of an early death because the damage has already largely been done, scientists have warned following a major study.
Researchers examined the data of 24,205 participants from 1998 to 2015 to track how changes in weight between young adulthood and later life affected health prospects.
The changes in Body Mass Index's (BMI) of the volunteers, aged 40-74 when they entered the study, were analysed over this period and compared with their index aged 25.
Scientists found that the participants whose BMI's fell from obese at age 25 down to overweightin midlife were 54 percent less likely to have died than those whose index's remained in the obeserange.
Analysis of the results indicated that 3.2 percent of the deaths would have been avoided if everyone with a BMI in the obeserange at age 25 had been able to slim down enough to drop down into the overweightcategory by midlife.
However, a similar reduction in death risk was not found in participants who lost weight later in life, with researchers suggesting this is because midlife weight loss is more closely tied to an ageing person's worsening general health.
The study, conducted by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), also foundthat weight loss was rare overall, as only 0.8% of participants had BMIs that went from the obeseto the overweightrange.
Although this study focused on preventing premature deaths, maintaining a healthy weight will also reduce the burden of many chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer,Dr JoAnn Manson, the study's co-author, noted.
Dr Andrew Stokes, assistant professor of global health at BUSPH, said: The results indicate an important opportunity to improve population health through primary and secondary prevention of obesity, particularly at younger ages.
Original post:
Midlife weight loss unlikely to reduce risk of an early death, scientists find - The Telegraph
