Weight Cycling Linked to Heart Disease Even In Women of Normal Weight
Weight cycling, or “yo-yo dieting”—the repeated losing and regaining of weight—may increase the risk of death from heart disease among postmenopausal women, even those who began the study at a healthy weight, according to recent research.1
Previous research into the effects of weight cycling has yielded inconsistent results about its effects on health, according to the researchers.
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For their study, the researchers classified self-reported weight history from 158,063 post-menopausal women into 4 categories: stable weight, steady gain, maintained weight loss, and weight cycling.
After 11.4 years of follow-up, the researchers found that women who were of “normal weight” at the start of the study classified into the weight cycling group had roughly a 3.5-times higher risk of sudden cardiac death than those whose weight remained stable. Weight cycling in “normal weight” women was also associated with a 66% increased risk of coronary heart disease-related deaths.
Whereas, no increased risk in either type of death occurred among overweight or obese women in the weight cycling category, nor in women in the steady gain or in maintained weight loss categories.
The researchers noted that the study has several limitations, including its observational nature, and that it relied upon self-reports.
“More research is needed before any recommendations can be made for clinical care regarding the risks of weight cycling, since these results apply only to postmenopausal women and not to younger-aged women or men,” they concluded.2
—Michael Potts
References:
- Rasla S, Garas M, Roberts MB, et al. Risk of sudden cardiac death and coronary heart disease mortality in postmenopausal women with history of weight cycling. [poster presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2016]. November 15, 2016. New Orleans, Louisiana.
- AHA. Yo-Yo dieting dangerous even if you’re not overweight [press release]. November 15, 2016. http://newsroom.heart.org/news/Xyo-yo-dieting-dangerous-even-if-youre-not-overweight.