Obesity is increasingly widespread in the world and the variety of diets to try to lose weight, too. However, many people who lose weight regain it quickly. Now, research suggests that continued rapid weight loss and regain (known as the yo-yo effect) can increase the risk of death from heart disease.
The study, carried out by the Rhode Island Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket (USA), shows that these diets can be disastrous for your health, especially for the heart, even if you are not overweight. This consequence was palpable among older women.
For the experiment, the researchers divided 158,063 postmenopausal women into four categories: stable weight, steady gain, sustained weight loss, and weight cycle. All the volunteers had a follow-up of more than 11 years. In addition, stable weight was established as the ability to gain or lose 4.5 kg throughout adult life. After age 11, the experts found that those women who were normal weight at the beginning of the study but later lost and regained weight had a much higher risk of sudden cardiac death, compared to women who maintained a stable weight throughout the entire period. period.
In fact, normal-weight women who subsequently experienced the yo-yo effect were 3.5 times more likely to die of sudden cardiac arrest than women whose weight remained stable. There was no increase in mortality in those who gained weight but did not lose it , or in women who lost weight but did not regain it .
According to Somwail Rasla, leader of the work, the evidence in this study suggests that being overweight in middle age increases the risk of death from two types of heart disease: coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death, but “more research is needed before any recommendation for clinical care regarding the risks of weight cycling, as these results apply only to postmenopausal women and not to younger women or men. “
As it is, the message seems to be that maintaining a stable body weight is best for overall health.
