Cutting Off Few Pounds Offers The Greatest Health Benefits

weight loss effects of weight loss Washington University School of Medicine Samuel Klein Weight loss and obesity obesity diabetes cardiovascular disease metabolism

By Maureen Bongat , Parent Herald Feb 23, 07:04 pm

Burning a few pounds isn't really easy as it would require so much effort, healthy diet, determination, self-control and discipline. But a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed every effort is all worth it.

Dr. Samuel Klein, the director of Washington University's Center for Human Nutrition, shared in an interview with the CBS News that by dropping a few pounds could lessen the risk of certain diseases like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It could also improve the metabolic function of the muscle tissue, liver and fat.

"Just a little bit of weight loss goes a very long way to improving their health," Dr. Samuel Klein said. "Our findings demonstrate that you get the biggest bang for your buck with 5% weight loss."

The researchers included 40 obese non-diabetic people with signs of insulin-resistant glucose metabolism to the research. According to WebMD, others were asked to stay the same weight, while some of them were asked to lose 5 percent, 10 percent and 15 percent of their body weight.

The result of the study showed those people who were asked to lose five percent of their weight had improvements in the secretion of the insulin and insulin sensitivity. While those people who lost more showed additional improvements in insulin sensitivity in muscle tissue and beta cell function.

Researchers are already looking forward to conduct future research regarding this study, aiming to determine whether weight loss can also benefit people who are already suffering from diabetes. They also want to look at how weight loss could also affect other obesity-related disease such as lung disease and arthritis.

Dr. Klein hopes the finding will motivate obese people to turn away from their unhealthy habits and start to lose some weight. "We hope that these findings will encourage obese people to take reasonable steps to watch what they eat and increase their physical activity, because this will translate into a lower risk for diabetes and heart disease," he concluded.