Heart Health -- Obesity And Cardiac Function

A heart health study from Washington University School of Medicine looked at weight loss in overweight patients. They wanted to know what happened to the heart and blood vessels when they lost weight.

They studied 60 adults who were advised to use a low calorie diet and exercise. About 3/4 of the subjects finished the study.

The obese who lost some weight by eating less and exercising more bettered their cardiovascular health.

On average, they lost weight for about six months, reaching a maximum loss of nine percent body weight or 22 pounds (10 kg).

Starting at about six months, most participants slowly regained some of their lost weight. At the end of two years, the participants averaged about nine pounds below their initial weight.

So you can see they didn't lose much weight. They lost some weight initially and then gained weight back.

Even though they regained some weight, after two years they still retained some of the heart and blood vessel benefit they had received, said a WUSM-SL release.

“Losing 20 or so pounds might seem daunting to some people, but we showed that even a more modest weight loss can yield heart and vascular benefits,” says study co-author Lisa de las Fuentes.

“You don’t necessarily need to lose 50 pounds to improve your heart function,” added Fuentes, cardiologist at Washington University School of Medicine-St. Louis.

We've known this a long time. There are benefits to weight loss even if you don't reach your goal weight. Even if you lose 10 pounds it can help improve your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

So there are really three phases for weight control. First is stopping the weight gain. This is important. A lot of adults just keep adding on pounds year after year.

The second is mild weight loss to start getting the health benefits.

And the third is a real weight loss program to get to ideal body weight and stay there.

If you gain a pound or two each year for 10 years this is 10-15 pounds. This kind of weight gain leads to obesity in middle age.

So the first step is to stop the constant gain. Get on a scale. Every day. And keep track of your weight.

Figure out a reasonable diet with reasonable portions.

Then realize that your metabolism with be slowing down as you get older. So if you don't increase your exercise you will gradually lose muscle and accumulate more fat.

via http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/15215.aspx