Diabetes Obes Metab
Weight cycling linked to progressive loss in fat-free mass
December 22, 2023

In a primary care population at high risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers followed 24-month weight change trajectories to investigate the impact of weight cycling on fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM). They found that weight cycling may be associated with a progressive loss in FFM and/or gain in FM in those with overweight and obesity at risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Cohort data from the Walking Away from Type 2 Diabetes trial was used, which recruited adults at risk of type 2 diabetes from primary care in 2009/2010. In total, 622 participants were included (average age = 63.6 years, BMI = 32.0 kg, 35.4% women), contributing 1,163 observations.
- Most observations (69.2%) were from those that maintained their body weight, with no change to FM or FFM.
- A minority (4.6% of observations) lost over 5% of body weight between baseline and 12 months, which was then regained between 12 and 24 months. These individuals regained FM to baseline levels, but lost 1.50 kg FFM, adjusted for confounders.
- In contrast, those that gained weight between baseline and 12 months but lost weight between 12 and 24 months (5.5% of observations) had a net gain in FM of 1.70 kg with no change to FFM.
- Authors concluded that there is some urgency in investigating whether these results are replicated with different therapies used to achieve initial weight loss and, if replicated, what the wider implications are on longer-term aging-related health risks, including frailty.
Source:
Yates T, et al. (2023, December 14). Diabetes Obes Metab. Impact of weight loss and weight gain trajectories on body composition in a population at high risk of type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38093678/
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