”The Diabetes Prevention Program showed that lifestyle intervention reduced the risk for diabetes to a greater extent than the anti-diabetic drug metformin (58% vs. 31%) (Knowler WC et al, 2002),” according to a report titled Australia’s future fat bomb that was written by researchers at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

The lifestyle-modification program had a goal of losing at least a 7 percent of body weight and at engaging in at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, while the dose of metformin was 850 mg twice a day.

Note: The report mistakenly stated that metformin only reduced the risk by 13%, but the number should have been 31%.

“A simple strategy such as losing [11 pounds] in 5 months has the potential to result in 27% to 34% fewer cardiovascular-related hospital admissions and deaths over the next 20 years,” according to a report titled Australia’s future fat bomb that was written by researchers at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Patients who underwent weight loss surgery were 76 percent less likely to get cancer for the 5 years following their surgery compared to people who did not according to a study presented on June 18th, 2008 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery by Dr. Nicolas Christou, director of bariatric surgery at McGill University.

Only 2 percent of those who had surgery were diagnosed with cancer during the first 5 years after their surgery compared to 8.5 percent of people who did not have surgery.

Patients in the surgery group lost an average of two-thirds of their excess body weight.

People who lost weight on either a low-carbohydrate diet or low-fat diet had improvements in mood, insomnia, pain, weakness, fatigue, and stomach problems accordinng to study from researchers at Duke University.

“This study shows that weight-loss surgery significantly decreases overall mortality as well as the development of new health-related conditions in morbidly obese patients,” concluded a recent study from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

When considering only patients who lose at 5 percent of their body weight by the end of weight loss studies, diet and lifestyle changes cause an average weight loss of less than 11 pounds after 2-4 years; weight loss medications cause an average weight loss of 11 to 22 pounds after 1-2 years; and weight loss surgery causes an average weight loss of 55-165 pounds after 2-4 years according to a new review from researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Intentional weight loss due to personal choice is associated with a 41 percent decrease in the risk of death in older men according to a new study from the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, England.

A 22 pound weight loss reduces blood pressure an average of 6.0 / 4.6 mmHg according to a new study from the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

Rats that were once obese, but who were put on a diet as adults to lose weight, lived longer than rats that remained obese their entire life, and lived as long as rats that were never obese according to a new study.

A five pound weight loss over 16 years decreases risk factors for coronary heart disease by 48 percent in men and 40 percent in women, whereas a five pound weight gain increases risk factors by 20 percent in men and 37 percent in women according to a recent analysis of the famous Framingham Heart Study.

Previous research found that adult weight gain appears to double the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. New research finds that adult weight loss reduces the risk of breast cancer after the age of 55 by 50-60 percent.

Avoiding weight gain reduces the risk of developing colon cancer, postmenopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) and oesophagus cancer (adenocarcinoma).

Lowering your body mass index (BMI) from 30 to 28.5 is estimated to reduce the risk of dying by 7.5 percent. This is a weight loss of roughly 9-10 pounds for a men and women of average height.

“The success of weight loss surgery in treating the complications associated with obesity is most probably related to the reduction of inflammatory mediators,” concludes a paper from researchers at the Obesity and Nutrition Research Center, Department of Surgery, from The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, in Pittsburgh, Penn. 

Losing 5 pounds decreases diastolic pressure by 7 mmHg and losing 10 pounds reduced it by 11.6 mmHg according to a study by McCarron and Reusser (1996).

Here is the American Dietetic Assoication’s position on weight management as of 2002.

A 2.2 pounds weight loss increased life expectancy of a type-2 diabetic by 3 to 4 months, and a 22 pounds weight loss increased life expectancy by 35 percent according to Lean et al (1990).

“Sustained modest weight loss among obese persons would yield substantial health and economic benefits,” concludes Graham A. Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H. Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. and his colleagues.

Women can reduce their risk of cardiovascular problems by trimming 2-4 inches off their waist a recent study suggests.