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CDC: Mortality rate is reduced even if no pounds are lost

March 3 — Overweight people can reduce their risk of death by trying to lose weight, regardless of whether they actually succeed in shedding pounds, a U.S. government health study suggested Monday.

Even those who tried to become thinner and failed saw their mortality rates fall 19 percent ...

RESEARCHERS AT the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked the cases of 6,391 overweight and obese people who joined the National Health Interview Survey over a nine-year period from 1989 to 1997.
What they found was a 24 percent drop in mortality among people who lost weight intentionally, compared with others who maintained a stable body mass without seeking weight loss. Mortality rates shrank by a steeper 30 percent among those who managed to lose between 2.2 pounds and 19.8 pounds.


Even those who tried to become thinner and failed saw their mortality rates fall 19 percent, leading researchers to wonder whether the attempt to lose weight can be seen as a marker for other healthy behaviors that can lower mortality.
The study, published in the American College of Physicians’ Annals of Internal Medicine, provided the clearest evidence yet that intentional weight loss can reduce the risk of death.

While links between obesity and life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer are well established, CDC researchers said some studies up to now have suggested that losing weight can lead to higher mortality.

Earlier findings may have been skewed by unintentional weight loss linked to health problems including cancer, heart disease and depression, CDC researchers said.
People in the study who lost weight without trying saw mortality rates shoot up by as much as 77 percent.
The findings also showed a significant drop in mortality for people who reported gaining weight over the nine-year period. Researchers said that occurred among a small number of mostly men and could suggest that weight gain signifies short-term health benefits that disappear over the longer term.