Faculty Publications – College of Science and Health
Title
Effects on cardiovascular risk factors of weight losses limited to 5–10 %
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2016
Abstract
Little is known about the cardiovascular effects of modest weight loss. To determine whether weight losses limited to 5–10 % are sufficient to produce cardiovascular health benefits, data from 401 overweight and obese adults who enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program from 2003 to 2011 were analyzed. Primary outcomes were changes in fasting glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol. Patients who lost 5–10 % showed significant reductions in triglycerides, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Patients who lost >10 % experienced significantly greater improvements in triglycerides, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol than patients losing less. For higher-risk patients, those who lost 5–10 % significantly reduced fasting glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol; those who lost >10 % improved on all risk factors (except HDL cholesterol) and to a significantly greater degree than those losing less. Five to 10 % weight losses produced improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, but greater weight losses were associated with even greater improvement.
Recommended Citation
Joshua D. Brown, Joanna Buscemi, Vanessa Milsom, Robert Malcolm, Patrick M. O'Neil, Effects on cardiovascular risk factors of weight losses limited to 5–10 %, Translational Behavioral Medicine, Volume 6, Issue 3, September 2016, Pages 339–346, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0353-9