Long-term weight loss may be harmful to health

[JohnSmith2007 353]

Long-term weight loss may be harmful to health

(Reuters) - Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday.

These compounds are normally stored in fatty tissues, but when fat breaks down during weight loss, they get into the blood stream, said lead researcher Duk-Hee Lee at the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea.

"We are living under the strong dogma that weight loss is always beneficial, but weight gain is always harmful...but we think that increased (pollutant) levels (in the blood) due to weight loss can affect human health in a variety of ways," she wrote in an email to Reuters.

Lee and an international team of colleagues studied 1,099 participants in the United States and concentrations of seven such compounds in their blood, they said in a paper published in the International Journal of Obesity.

"Once released into the bloodstream, these pollutants are able to reach vital organs," the researchers said in a statement.

Those who lost most weight over 10 years had the highest concentrations of the compounds, called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), compared to those who gained or maintained a steady weight.

"There is emerging evidence that POPs ... are not safe. POPs (are) linked to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal disease," Lee said.

The researchers factored in age, gender and race to explain the differences in concentrations of these pollutants but weight history remained a statistically significant factor.

More studies were needed to establish if such harm outweighed the benefits to be gained from weight loss, Lee said.

(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn; Editing by Ron Popeski)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6861XV20100907

[Amby 490]

I think it means don't yo-yo diet. Don't lose weight, gain it back, diet again, gain it back. A lot of the time people who diet like that end up gaining more weight than they originally lost.

Edited September 9, 2010 by Amby

[one...two...tree 2,762]

How much weight are you trying to lose, Gary?

[SMR 368]

What is the intended meaning of long-term in this context? Is it referring to the length of time you keep the weight off, the length of time you spend losing the weight, or the length of time you spend dieting back and forth? I don't really understand how losing weight and keeping it off could be worse than losing it and gaining it back and then losing it again.

[^_^ 5,021]

I don't really understand how losing weight and keeping it off could be worse than losing it and gaining it back and then losing it again.

Never trust a librul.

[JohnSmith2007 353]

How much weight are you trying to lose, Gary?

You are simply amazing.

[Ban Hammer 14,078]

How much weight are you trying to lose, Gary?

if you really think this is gary, then pm the fuzzy one with your concerns. continually browbeating that poster with accusations in open forum is getting old.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

if you really think this is gary, then pm the fuzzy one with your concerns. continually browbeating that poster with accusations in open forum is getting old.

He's obviously got a real first name and it ain't John, so I'd like to call him, Gary, if you don't mind, Chuckie.

[Darnell 8,479]

Hmmmm... proper use of chinese herbal removes POPs on a regular basis.