I am overweight: what will losing weight do for me?
Losing weight delivers measurable health gains from as little as 5% weight loss: better blood sugar, lower blood pressure and less pressure on your knees. Combine diet with strength training to preserve muscle mass and reduce the risk of weight regain.
Even losing just 5 to 10% of your body weight makes a big difference if you are overweight and have type 2 diabetes. Randomised research shows that at that level of weight loss, the chance of a meaningful drop in blood sugar is more than three and a half times greater than in people who remain stable. Blood pressure falls more often, and triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood that is harmful at high levels) also improve clearly. 'Bad' LDL cholesterol did not respond significantly in this study.
Every kilogram counts for your joints. A randomised study in people with knee pain caused by wear and tear showed that losing one kilogram reduces the load on the knee joint by approximately 40 Newton per step. That sounds technical, but added up over thousands of steps a day it is a noticeable relief for painful knees.
Losing weight is achievable, but the weight does not stay off nearly as reliably. The body adjusts its metabolism, hormones and sense of hunger in order to regain the lost weight. Most people who rely on dieting alone eventually regain the weight they lost. Physical activity helps to limit this: extra exercise produces on average 1.5 to 3.5 kilograms of additional weight loss, and abdominal fat also decreases, which is beneficial for your heart and metabolism.
A practical point to keep in mind when losing weight is muscle mass. Weight loss through dieting is almost always accompanied by some loss of muscle mass. Adding strength training preserves an average of 0.8 kilograms of muscle mass and also improves muscle strength. Endurance training does preserve muscle mass but barely increases muscle strength. Adequate protein intake also helps. Your physical functioning improves through weight loss regardless, because the fat mass that is lost more than compensates for the muscle loss.
The health risks of persistent excess weight are serious: two thirds of the excess mortality associated with obesity is caused by cardiovascular disease, ranging from atherosclerosis to cardiac arrhythmias. This makes weight management one of the most powerful things you can do for your heart, even though keeping the weight off is genuinely difficult.
Based on two randomised controlled studies (including a multicentre RCT), five reviews and one study not further indexed. Effects on blood sugar, blood pressure and knee load come from randomised trials; findings on muscle mass and exercise come from reviews of multiple studies. The claim about weight regain is likewise based on a review.
What are effective ways to lose weight?
The combination of eating fewer calories and exercising for more than 250 minutes per week is the most proven effective approach; add behavioural support if sustaining it proves difficult, and discuss medications or surgery with your doctor if lifestyle changes alone are not producing sufficient results.
Does drinking water help with weight loss?
Drinking water probably helps with weight loss, especially when done before meals or used to replace sugary drinks. The effect is modest and works best as part of a broader diet.
Why is it harder for me to lose weight than it used to be?
Ageing lowers your energy expenditure through muscle loss and a slower metabolism, making weight loss objectively harder. Strength training two to three times per week is the best-supported way to slow that process and support weight loss, ideally with professional guidance.
Is yo-yo dieting, repeatedly gaining and losing weight, bad for me?
Yo-yo dieting is probably less harmful than is often thought, but whether it is the cause of health damage, or whether underlying poor health is the real explanation, remains uncertain. A stable weight is the most achievable goal, and exercise helps more than simply counting calories.
Does metformin help with weight loss?
Metformin helps with weight loss, but the effect is modest: expect a few kilograms, not a dramatic transformation. Lifestyle changes work better in the short term, but weight loss with metformin remains stable over the long term. Discuss it with your doctor if you want to know whether it suits your situation.
What does chronic stress do to your weight in the long run?
Research shows that chronic stress increases the likelihood of weight gain over the long term, particularly belly fat, through hormonal changes and behaviours such as moving less and sleeping poorly. That link is well documented.