Obese individuals who lose as little as 5 percent of their body weight can improve their metabolic function and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, a new study has found.
Many current treatment guidelines urge patients to lose between 5 percent and 10 percent of their body weight in order to experience health benefits, but the recommendations were based on earlier studies that didn’t distinguish between participants who lost only 5 percent of their weight and those who lost more.
The study, a clinical trial, randomized 40 obese individuals with signs of insulin resistance to either maintain their body weight or go on a low-calorie diet and lose 5 percent, 10 percent or 15 percent of their body weight.
It found that insulin sensitivity improved significantly after participants lost just 5 percent of their body weight, as did triglyceride concentrations, blood pressure and heart rate. There were no improvements in markers of inflammation at that level of weight loss, however.
“Losing 5 percent is much easier than losing 10 percent, so it was important to understand what the differences might be,” said Dr. Samuel Klein, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine and senior author of the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism. “You get a big bang for your buck with 5 percent.”
A version of this article appears in print on 03/01/2016, on page D6 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Prevention: Modest Weight Loss Helps.
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