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Effects on cardiovascular risk factors of weight losses limited to 5–10 %

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

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.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation for this manuscript was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute under award number R25CA057699, which provided support for Joanna Buscemi during manuscript preparation. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Weight Management Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Joshua D. Brown Ph.D., Robert Malcolm M.D. & Patrick M. O’Neil Ph.D.

  2. Now with the Institute of Health Research and Policy and University of Illinois Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

    Joanna Buscemi Ph.D.

  3. Now with Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, James A. Haley VA, Tampa, FL, USA

    Vanessa Milsom Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Joshua D. Brown Ph.D.
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  2. Joanna Buscemi Ph.D.
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  3. Vanessa Milsom Ph.D.
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  4. Robert Malcolm M.D.
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  5. Patrick M. O’Neil Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna Buscemi Ph.D..

Ethics declarations

Author’s statement of conflict of interest and adherence to ethical standards

Joshua D. Brown, Joanna Buscemi, Vanessa Milsom, Robert Malcolm, and Patrick M. O’Neil declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures were conducted in accordance with ethical standards.

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Implications

Practice: Health care providers delivering obesity treatment should provide education to patients regarding the benefits of modest weight loss.

Policy: Resources should be devoted to develop scalable weight loss programs to encourage modest weight loss.

Research: Further research is needed to determine the longer-term effects of modest weight loss on cardiovascular risk factors.

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Brown, J.D., Buscemi, J., Milsom, V. et al. Effects on cardiovascular risk factors of weight losses limited to 5–10 %. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 6, 339–346 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0353-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0353-9

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