All the work that goes into losing weight in middle age could set you up for a longer, healthier life later, according to a new study. A sustained weight loss of about 6.5% of body weight without medications or surgery in middle-aged people is linked to substantial long-term health benefits, said lead study author Dr. Timo Strandberg, professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
Those benefits included a reduction of risk for both chronic diseases and death from all causes. The study, published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed data of about 23,000 people from three different groups across different time periods: one group from 1985 to 1988, another from 1964 to 1973, and a third between 2000 and 2013.
Researchers grouped the people in the studies based on their starting body mass index (BMI) and whether they gained, lost or maintained weight and compared the patterns with hospitalizations and death records. To read the full story.