Middle-aged people who lose weight are more likely to live longer than those who do not shed the pounds during midlife, latest evidence has demonstrated.
A recent study from the University of Helsinki has found that changing your lifestyle habits during midlife is associated with long-term health benefits.
- Long-term study links midlife chronic conditions to higher cancer risk and mortality
- Type 2 diabetes risk among people with prediabetes reduced by digital lifestyle programmes
Weight loss during midlife can combat the development of type 2 diabetes, arterial and pulmonary diseases, cancers and other chronic conditions, the research has revealed.
A total of 23,000 adults from Finland and the UK took part in the trial, all of whom were aged 30 to 50 at the start.
After following them for 12 to 35 years, the researchers identified health benefits in the participants who lost an average of 6.5% of their body weight in early middle age and managed to keep the weight off.
Senior author Professor Timo Strandberg said: “The benefits of lifestyle-based weight management are widely discussed even though studies have found it surprisingly difficult to demonstrate health benefits beyond the prevention of diabetes.
“I hope the findings will inspire people to see that lifestyle changes can lead to major health improvements and a longer life.”
- Healthy lifestyle at the age of 50 can increase life expectancy
- Weight management improved by family-based approach to lifestyle programmes
He added: “This is particularly important today as more people are overweight than when the collection of our research data began 35 years ago.”
According to the experts, a BMI under 25 is recommended for optimal health. Read the study in the journal JAMA Network Open.
