Overweight who diet risk dying earlier, says study
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Monday June 27, 2005
The Guardian
Overweight people who diet to reach a healthier weight are more likely
to die young than those who remain fat, according to a study.
The finding needs to be backed up by further research before sweeping
changes are made to public health strategies, the authors warn, but it
highlights how poorly the long-term health effects of dieting are
understood.
It is well proven that losing weight reduces the risk of heart disease
and diabetes among the obese, but the new study suggests that dieting
also causes physiological damage that in the long term can outweigh
the benefits.
Article continues
The authors stressed that very overweight people and those with
weight-related illnesses should not be deterred from dieting, but
added that researchers should in future consider the short-term
advantages of weight loss against the potential long-term risks.
"We need to study the effects of weight loss on the body much better
than we have done so far," said the study's lead researcher, Thorkild
Sorensen, of the Institute of Preventive Medicine at Copenhagen
University hospital.
The study, which was carried out in Finland, followed 2,957 overweight
or obese people who had been screened to ensure they had no underlying
illnesses.
Overweight people have body mass indexes (BMIs) greater than 25, while
obese people have BMIs greater than 30.
Each participant was questioned about their desire to lose weight in
1975 and again in 1981. Records of their weight and general health
were kept for the next 18 years, during which 268 of the participants
died.
Analysis of the data showed that those who wanted to lose weight and
succeeded were significantly more likely to die young than those who
stayed fat.
"Healthy overweight or obese subjects who try to lose weight and
succeed in doing so over a six-year period suffer from almost double
the risk of dying during the next 18 years compared with subjects who
do not try to lose weight and whose weight remains stable," said Dr
Sorensen.
Those who gained weight also had a greater risk of dying young.
The researchers were unable to identify why the dieters were at a
greater risk of dying younger, but believe it is caused by fat being
lost from lean organs as well as other body tissues.
"It seems as if the long-term effect of the weight loss is a general
weakening of the body that leads to an increased risk of dying from
several different causes," said Dr Sorensen. "The adverse effects of
losing lean body mass may overrule the beneficial effects of losing
fat mass when dieting," he added.
The finding is supported by an earlier study by researchers at the US
National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in
Atlanta.
It followed 6,391 overweight or obese people for nine years and found
that those who had no intention of losing weight and even gained
weight were least at risk of dying young.
If the latest study is confirmed, it emphasises the need to prevent
people becoming overweight and obese, the authors say.
"If people are overweight, their main priority should be to stop
gaining weight and then work on losing some rather than chasing a low
body mass index," said Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition and
dietetics at King's College London. "If you can stop people gaining
weight in their 20s and 30s, it seems to have the best outcome in the
long term."
Adult obesity has nearly quadrupled in Britain in the past 25 years
with around 22% now obese and three quarters overweight.
A National Audit Office report into obesity in 2002 estimated that the
condition cost the NHS £500m a year.
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