NEW ORLEANS — Extremely obese individuals who lost weight and kept it off for at least 1 year significantly improved their vascular endothelial function, Dr. Noyan Gokce reported in a poster at the annual meeting of NAASO, the Obesity Society.
Arterial flow-mediated dilation rose by 3.2% in those who lost weight, but deteriorated by 1.1% in those whose weight increased or stayed the same, Dr. Gokce, a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center, said in an interview. Patients who lost weight also reduced their cholesterol and glucose levels.
Dr. Gokce and a colleague, recruited 39 consecutive subjects aged 34–58 years with a body mass index range of 36 kg/m
They measured the patients' arterial function, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels at baseline and at 12 months, and compared the results of those who lost weight with the results of those who gained weight or whose weight stayed the same. Of the total, 27 achieved successful weight loss, defined as a loss of at least 10% of body weight from baseline to 12-month follow-up, and 12 lost no weight or gained weight during the same period.
The weight-loss group showed a significant increase in flow-mediated dilation. At baseline, the mean flow-mediated dilation was impaired at 6.9% and 6.4% in weight-loss and no-weight-loss/weight-gain subjects, respectively. At 12 months, the mean flow-mediated dilation increased to 10.1% in weight-loss subjects and decreased slightly, to 5.3%, in the other group.
In addition, in those who lost weight, mean blood glucose decreased by 27 mg/dL, total cholesterol fell by 13 mg/dL, and mean triglyceride levels fell by 32 mg/dL. In those who gained or maintained their weight, mean blood glucose increased by 15 mg/dL, total cholesterol increased by 29 mg/dL, and mean triglyceride levels rose by 10 mg/dL.