Dose-response association between long-term weight loss in young adults and later-life metabolic health

Weigh change across adulthood is related to the presence of NAFLD: results from NHANES III

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a widely recognized driving factor of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), it remains unclear whether historical weight status was associated with the presence of NAFLD. The study aimed to explore the relationship between weight change across adulthood and the presence of NAFLD.

METHODS

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III included 6586 participants. Weight change was assessed according to body mass index (BMI) at baseline, at 25 years old, and 10 years before baseline. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m². NAFLD was assessed by hepatic ultrasonography.

RESULTS

The prevalence of NAFLD was highest among stable obese participants (48.1%), and the lowest among stable non-obese participants (18.9%). Among non-obese participants, those who get obese in early adulthood had a higher risk for the presence of NAFLD than those who were never obese (odds ratio [OR], 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17-2.92). Among obese participants, those who become obese in middle-late adulthood had a lower risk of NAFLD (OR, 0.79; 95% CI 0.65-0.96) than those with stable obesity. A weight gain of more than 12 kg and 4 kg since early and middle-late adulthood respectively were associated with increased risks of NAFLD.

CONCLUSION

Among current nonobese individuals, those with a history of obesity in their early adulthood had a higher risk of NAFLD than those never obese. Among the currently obese population, those who became obese after mid-adulthood have a significantly lower risk of NAFLD compared with those who were stable obese.

The impact of Dietary Weight loss, Aerobic Exercise, and Daylong Movement on Social Cognitive Mediators of Long-term Weight loss

This report contrasts the impact of a dietary weight loss intervention (WL) paired with aerobic exercise (EX) and/or sitting less and moving throughout the day (SL) on self-efficacy for walking (hereafter walking self-efficacy) and satisfaction with physical functioning (hereafter satisfaction). Additional analyses examined dose-response associations between change in weight and changes in these key outcomes. Older adults (N = 112; age = 70.21[Formula: see text]4.43) were randomized to 6 months of WL+EX, WL+SL, or WL+EX+SL followed by a 12-month maintenance period. All groups reported increases in walking self-efficacy at month 6 with greater improvements in WL+EX and WL + EX+SL. Only WL+SL demonstrated improved walking self-efficacy at month 18. All conditions demonstrated improved satisfaction scores at both time points. Changes in walking self-efficacy and satisfaction were negatively associated with change in weight over the 6-month intervention and after the maintenance period. These results support the utility of WL + SL for improving key social cognitive outcomes in aging.

Association between weight change and risk of metabolic abnormalities in non-overweight/obese and overweight/obese population: A retrospective cohort study among Chinese adults

OBJECTIVES

To explore the effects of weight change on the risk of metabolic abnormalities in the Chinese population.

METHODS

A total of 1895 metabolically healthy adults aged 21-78 years completed anthropometric and biological measurements at baseline (2012) and at an eight year follow-up (2020). Based on absolute weight change and relative weight change, the participants were split into five classes. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the risk of metabolic abnormalities using stable weight as the reference group. Stratified analysis was used to explore this relationship in participants with different baseline body mass index (BMI) levels.

RESULTS

During the follow-up period, 35.41% of the participants retained a stable weight, and 10.71% had metabolic abnormalities. After covariate adjustment, for every kilogram gained over eight years, the risk of developing metabolic abnormalities increased by 22% (RR: 1.094; 95% CI: 1.063-1.127). Compared with stable weight participants, weight gain of 2-4 Kg and weight gain ≥ 4 Kg exhibited significantly higher risks of metabolic abnormalities, with RR of 1.700 (95% CI 1.150-2.513) and 1.981 (95% CI 1.372-2.859), respectively. A weight gain of ≥ 4 Kg had an opposite effect on the overweight/obesity and non-overweight/obesity groups, with an increased risk of metabolic abnormalities only in the non-overweight/obesity group (RR, 2.291; 95% CI, 1.331-3.942). Moreover, weight loss ≥ 4 Kg significantly reduced the risk of metabolic abnormalities only among overweight/obese adults (RR 0.373; 95% CI 0.154-0.906). Similar results were observed in relative body weight change analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term excessive body weight gain is positively associated with an increased risk of metabolic abnormalities among adults with non-overweight/obesity, whereas long-term body weight loss is a protective factor for metabolic health among adults with overweight/obesity.