Small weight loss, big health gains

February 25, 2016

For obese people, losing just as little as little as 5% their body weight is enough to reap significant health benefits, according to a study published in Cell Metabolism.

Results show that a 5% weight loss was sufficient to reduce multiple risk factors for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

“These results demonstrate you get a large bang for your buck with a 5% weight loss,” says senior study author Samuel Klein of Washington University School of Medicine. “Based on these findings, we should reconsider changing current obesity practice guidelines to stress a target goal of 5% weight loss, rather than 5% to 10% weight loss, which increases the perception of failure when patients do not achieve weight losses that are greater than 5%.”

Among the 19 individuals who lost 5% of their body weight, beta cell function improved significantly, as did insulin sensitivity in fat tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle. Meanwhile, the nine participants who achieved additional weight loss showed further improvements in beta cell function and insulin sensitivity in muscle tissue. “Taken together, the findings show that 5% weight loss is sufficient to improve health outcomes, with additional weight loss further decreasing risk factors for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases,” Klein says.

According to the authors, future studies should evaluate the effect of progressive weight loss on other obesity-related complications, such as arthritis and lung disease. It will also be important to test whether the findings apply to people with diabetes and to examine the cellular basis for the observed therapeutic effects.

In the meantime, Klein hopes that this study will serve as a motivating force to help people achieve manageable weight loss goals. “Our findings show that even a small amount of weight loss has important health benefits for multiple organ systems,” he says. “We hope that these findings will encourage obese people to take reasonable steps to watch what they eat and increase their physical activity, because this will translate into a lower risk for diabetes and heart disease.”