Health Benefits Of Weight Loss - Weight And Health: Obesity

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Health benefits of weight loss

Losing excess weight can make you feel better both physically and emotionally and can help you live a longer, healthier life. Especially encouraging is the fact that you don't have to lose a tremendous amount of weight to become healthier. Even a modest weight loss of 5%–10% of your starting weight can lead to significant health benefits.

One major trial to show the benefits of lifestyle changes (including losing weight and exercising) was the Diabetes Prevention Program, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002. It involved more than 3,200 people who were at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that people who lost just 7% of their weight and exercised about 30 minutes a day cut their risk of diabetes by nearly 60%.

Earlier, smaller studies offer additional evidence. In one, people with hypertension who lost a modest 10 pounds over 6 months reduced their systolic blood pressure by 2.8 mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure by 2.5 mm Hg. These reductions in blood pressure were equivalent to the reductions brought about by treatment with blood pressure medications. Weight loss is so effective that many people with high blood pressure can stop taking blood pressure medicine after they lose weight, for as long as they are able to keep it off.

Last updated:	June 20, 2007