Trying to weight loss but gaining weight instead still reduces risk of death by 6%

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Thursday, September 04, 2008 3:06 pm Email this article
People who were trying to lose weight but gained weight instead were still 6 percent less likely to die over a 9-year period compared to people who were not trying to lose weight and reported no weight change according to a 2003 study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that followed 6391 overweight and obese persons with a body mass index of 25 or more who were at least 35 years of age.

I assume that many of these people initially lost weight, but then regained more weight than they lost. Conclusion

Conclusion: Even trying to lose weight reduces the risk of death

“Attempted weight loss is associated with lower all-cause mortality, independent of weight change,” the researchers concluded.

 

Comment

Comment: I assume most of this is due to increased exercise

My guess would be that most of this decrease in the risk of death is probably due to an increase in exercise which has benefits even without weight loss.

 

Patient Summary of Study

Patient summary of the study posted here

A summary of the study for patients in PDF format can be found here.

REFERENCE

Gregg E, Gerzoff R, Thompson T, Williamson D. Intentional weight loss and death in overweight and obese u.s. Adults 35 years of age and older. Ann Intern Med. 2003 Mar 4, 138(5):383-89.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

E. Gregg
Division of Diabetes Translation
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
4770 Buford Highway NE, Mailstop K-10
Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Death, Risk of

• Weight Loss, Benefits of