Article Text
Abstract
Background Whether weight cycling (repeated weight loss and regain) is associated with cardiometabolic health is unclear. Study objective was to examine whether weight cycling since young adulthood (ie, 25 years of age) was associated with cardiometabolic markers.
Methods Data from a nationally representative cross-sectional US sample (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2014) were used. Weight history was based on self-reported weight at age 25, 10 years prior and 1 year prior to the survey (n=4190, 51% male). Using current self-reported weight as the anchor, participants were classified as (1) stable weight, (2) weight losers, (3) weight gainers and (4) weight cyclers. Cardiometabolic markers included fasting lipids, insulin sensitivity and blood pressure. Multiple linear regressions were used to analyse weight history (reference: stable weight) and adjusted for covariates. Analyses incorporated the sampling design and survey weights and were stratified by sex or weight status.
Results Compared with females with stable weight, female weight cyclers had worse lipids and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (all ps<0.05). Compared with males with stable weight, male weight cyclers had worse high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and HOMA-IR (ps<0.05). Weight cyclers with normal weight had worse HDL and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ps<0.05), and weight cyclers with overweight or obesity had worse HOMA-IR (p=0.05). Blood pressure was not associated.
Conclusion Weight cycling is adversely associated with cardiometabolic markers but associations differ by sex and weight status. While weight cycling is consistently associated with worse cardiometabolic markers among females, results are mixed among males. Weight cycling is associated with worse lipid measures for normal weight persons, and marginally worse insulin sensitivity for those with overweight/obesity.
- Epidemiology
- Obesity
- weight cycling
- cardiometabolic
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Footnotes
Contributors LK performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the data and wrote the first draft. BK and JB contributed to the interpretation of the results, reviewed the manuscript and provided substantive feedback. All authors were involved with the conception of the study and approved the final manuscript.
Funding LK holds a Junior 1 salary award from Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé. The funders were not involved in the study design, data analyses, data interpretation, manuscript writing or submission processes.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Data sharing statement Data are available in a public, open-access repository.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.