A slight drop in the population’s weight could significantly cut the rate of people dying from diabetes and heart disease, new research suggests.
A nation’s rate of type 2 diabetes has long been known to be linked with their average body weight. But it is still unclear to what extent weight loss could reduce the rate of diabetes and heart disease.
Dr Manuel Franco and his team at the University of Alcala in Spain explain in today’s (10 April) British Medical Journal that most studies have found the lowest risk of overall death among people with a body mass index of 24 to 29.
British experts say the findings hold out hope that targeting the nation’s weight can make a big difference to health.
The researchers set out to discover the health impact of a downward shift in the body mass index of a population, and the time it would take to impact on death rates from diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
They used figures from Cuba, which saw a fall in energy intake and large rise in physical activity after the Cuban economic crisis of the early 1990s. This led to an average population-wide weight loss of four to five kg (eight to 11lbs).
Changes in daily energy intake, physical activity, body weight and smoking were tracked from 1980 to 2010 using national and regional surveys. Figures on diabetes and mortality were taken from national registries. They report that rapid declines in diabetes and heart disease were seen when the average population weight fell.
"A rebound in population weight followed in 1995," they add. "The increase in weight was immediately followed by a 116% increase in diabetes prevalence and 140% increase in diabetes incidence."
They estimate that a five kg population-wide weight loss "would reduce diabetes mortality by half and cardiovascular heart disease mortality by a third".
Doireann Maddock, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “The link between obesity, heart disease and diabetes is well known but it’s interesting to see how modest weight loss may have such an impact within a relatively short period of time.
"It’s difficult to be certain if the findings in Cuba can translate to the UK’s population but it’s an encouraging reminder that simple steps such as increasing physical activity and watching what you eat can have a dramatic impact on your risk of heart disease and diabetes."
Franco, M. et al. Population-wide weight loss and regain in relation to diabetes burden and cardiovascular mortality in Cuba 1980-2010: repeated cross sectional surveys and ecological comparison of secular trends. BMJ 10 April 2013 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f1515 [abstract]
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