A systematic review reveals that lifestyle changes through intensive behavioral weight loss programs can decrease the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes for at least five years, even if some weight is regained., the cardiovascular benefits of weight loss achieved through lifestyle changes were sustained for at least five years.
According to the 2023 Statistical Update by the American Heart Association, globally, overweight and obesity contributed to 2.4 million deaths in 2020. People struggling with obesity or who are overweight are more susceptible to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which increase the likelihood of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers combined the results of 124 studies totaling more than 50,000 participants, with an average follow-up of 28 months. They used the combined results to estimate changes in risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes after weight loss. The average weight loss across the different studies ranged from 2-5 kilograms, or 5-10 pounds. Weight regain averaged 0.12 to 0.32 kg a year.
The ratio of total cholesterol to good cholesterol – known as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol – was 1.5 points lower one year and five years after participation in an intensive weight loss program. “Most trials look at whether new treatments are effective and focus on weight change in the short-term rather than the effect on later disease,” Jebb said. “Individual studies are often too small to detect differences between groups in the incidence of cardiovascular conditions because, fortunately, they affect only a small proportion of the whole group, and studies may not continue long enough to see the effects on ‘hard’ outcomes, such as a new diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes or a heart attack.
The analysis had several limitations: information included in the review was not updated after 2019 and the review focused on research papers published in English, so eligible studies written in other languages may have been missed.