Weight loss

Suggested

3 studies · 1 recommendation

Last updated: February 25, 2026

Suggested3 studies

Achieving and maintaining healthy body weight significantly reduces type 2 diabetes risk

Three large-scale studies encompassing over 364,000 participants across multiple European countries establish body weight as a critical modifiable factor for type 2 diabetes prevention. Mendelian randomisation analysis in 337,536 UK Biobank participants demonstrated a causal relationship, with each 4.1 kg/m² increase in BMI raising diabetes odds by 2.72-fold (95% CI 2.33–3.29). The EPIC-InterAct case-cohort study (11,559 diabetes cases, 15,258 subcohort) found that BMI adjustment attenuated the protective association of dietary fiber with diabetes (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69–0.97), confirming weight as an independent mediating pathway. A multicohort analysis across four countries showed individuals without obesity and other behavioral risk factors lived approximately 6 additional years free of chronic disease compared to those with two or more risk factors. Obesity independently reduced both healthy and disease-free life expectancy regardless of sex or nationality.

Evidence

A data-driven approach for studying the role of body mass in multiple diseases: a phenome-wide registry-based case-control study in the UK Biobank

Authors: Biener, Bowden, Burgess, Burgess, Burgess, Bycroft, Chaker, Chiolero, Cronin, Davies, Denny, Dixon, Gkatzionis, Hartwig, Hemani, Kulkarni, Lau, Locke, Michailidou, Millard, Nyberg, Panoutsopoulou, Ruhl, Schoemaker, Sudlow, Sun, Todd, Tyrrell, Verbanck, Verma, Wills, Xu

Published: January 1, 2019

In this case-control study of 337,536 UK Biobank participants aged 37-73 years, Mendelian randomisation analysis demonstrated that genetically determined BMI was causally associated with type 2 diabetes with an odds ratio of 2.72 (95% CI 2.33-3.29) per one standard deviation (4.1 kg/m²) increase in BMI. This association passed stringent Bonferroni correction (p<5.4×10⁻⁵) and showed consistent evidence across all five sensitivity analysis methods including weighted median, weighted mode, and Egger regression.

View Source →

Smoking, physical inactivity and obesity as predictors of healthy and disease-free life expectancy between ages 50 and 75 : a multicohort study

Authors: Aalto, Ville, Goldberg, Marcel, Hanson, Linda Magnuson, Head, Jenny, Kawachi, Ichiro, Kivimaki, Mika, Stenholm, Sari, Vahtera, Jussi, Westerlund, Hugo, Zaninotto, Paola, Zins, Marie

Published: August 1, 2016

A multicohort study across England, Finland, France, and Sweden analyzed three modifiable risk factors — smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity (BMI >= 30 kg/m²) — as predictors of chronic disease-free life expectancy from ages 50 to 75. Diabetes was one of four tracked chronic diseases. Individuals with no behavioural risk factors could expect to live an average of 6 years longer free of chronic diseases and 8 years longer in good self-rated health compared to those with at least two risk factors. Obesity as a standalone risk factor was independently linked to reduced healthy and disease-free years. Sex-specific multistate life table analyses showed no significant differences between the four national cohorts.

View Source →

Dietary fibre and incidence of type 2 diabetes in eight European countries: the EPIC-InterAct Study and a meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Authors: InterAct Consortium

Published: July 1, 2015

In the EPIC-InterAct case-cohort study (11,559 type 2 diabetes cases identified during 10.8 years follow-up, subcohort of 15,258 participants), the inverse association between total dietary fiber and diabetes risk (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69–0.97 for Q4 vs. Q1) was attenuated and no longer statistically significant after adjustment for BMI. This attenuation pattern suggests body weight partially mediates fiber's protective association with type 2 diabetes, supporting weight management as an independent actionable target for diabetes prevention.

View Source →