Correction of lifestyle habits, not surgery or drugs, is also okay...Weight loss in middle age reduces chronic disease risk and mortality
May 28, 2025
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This is the result of a study by Dr. Timo Strandberg of the University of Helsinki in Finland published in the American Medical Association journal JAMA Network Open.
The research team said that although the effects of surgical treatment or drug (GLP-1 receptor agonist) treatment for pathological obesity and overweight are proven, the long-term link between weight loss through lifestyle and other major diseases is still unclear. The cohort study results reflected in the survey were conducted at a time when there were few weight loss treatments using surgery or drugs, showing that continuous weight loss in middle age reduces the risk of chronic diseases and mortality from all causes beyond type 2 diabetes.
The research team first divided 23,149 people who participated in three cohort studies that repeatedly measured their height and weight from the 1960s to 2000 into four groups according to the body mass index (BMI: kg/㎡), and followed up on disease and mortality from 12 to 35 years. The three cohort studies are the Whitehall II study (WHII: 4118, median age of 39 years, 1985-1988), the Helsinki Businessman study (HBS: 2335, 42 years, 1964-1973), and the Finnish public sector study (FPS: 16,696, 39 years, 2000).
The four groups are the healthy weight group with body mass index (BMI) maintained below 25, the quasi weight loss group from above 25 to below 25, the weight gain group increased from below 25 to above 25, and the persistent overweight group maintained above 25. Chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, cancer, asthma, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were evaluated in WHII and FPS, and all-cause mortality was assessed in HBS.
Long-term follow-up revealed that the weight loss group significantly reduced the risk of chronic diseases in both cases including and except for type 2 diabetes, even after considering other factors such as smoking, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol compared to the persistent overweight group.
The WHII study showed that the weight loss group had a 48% lower risk of chronic disease than the persistent overweight group, and a 42% lower risk of chronic disease except for type 2 diabetes. The FPS study also found that the risk of chronic diseases in the weight loss group was 57% lower than that in the persistent overweight group. The HBS study showed that weight loss in middle age lowered all-cause mortality by 19%.
The research team found that maintaining a healthy weight (below a BMI of 25) throughout life was the best option for overall health"While correcting middle-aged overweight without surgical or drug treatment is challenging, the results of this study suggest that this is feasible and may be associated with a long-term risk reduction of cardiovascular disease, other chronic diseases, and mortality associated with overweight"
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
