Healthy lifestyle can boost metabolic health even without weight loss — Study
People can improve their health through dietary and lifestyle changes even if they do not lose weight, according to an international study
- JERUSALEM — People can improve their health through dietary and lifestyle
changes even if they do not lose weight, according to an international study.
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- The research, conducted by the universities of Ben-Gurion
(Israel), Harvard (US), and Leipzig (Germany), focused on individuals described
as "weight loss resistant" -- those who adopt healthy habits but
struggle to shed pounds, Xinhua news agency reported.
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- “We have been conditioned to equate weight loss with
health, and weight loss-resistant individuals are often labeled as failures,”
said lead author Anat Yaskolka Meir, postdoctoral research fellow in the
Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School.
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- “Our findings reframe how we define clinical success.
People who do not lose weight can improve their metabolism and reduce their
long-term risk for disease. That’s a message of hope, not failure,” Meir added.
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- Published in the European Journal of Preventive
Cardiology, the study challenges the long-standing belief that weight loss is
the primary sign of a successful diet. Researchers found that even participants
who did not lose weight showed measurable improvements in key health
indicators.
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- The study tracked 761 adults between 18 to 24 months. All
participants followed lifestyle changes without taking supplements or
medications and were assigned to healthy diets.
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- Participants also received free gym access and exercise
guidance.
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- By the end of the trial, approximately one-third of the
participants had not lost weight, despite closely following the programme.
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- However, they showed improvements in metabolic health,
including higher levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, lower levels of
leptin (a hormone primarily produced by fat cells), and reductions in abdominal
fat, confirmed through MRI scans.
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- Researchers also identified 12 genetic markers that may
influence whether a person is likely to lose weight through lifestyle changes,
an insight that could help personalise future diet plans.
