Long-Term Weight Loss Could Lead To Bigger Problems
Researchers said on Tuesday that long-term weight loss may release pollutants into the blood stream linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lead researcher Duk-Hee Lee at the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea told Reuters that these compounds are normally stored in fatty tissues, but when fat breaks down during weight loss, they get into the blood stream.
"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.
The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, included 1,099 participants in the U.S. and looked at concentrations of seven of these types of compounds in their blood.
"Once released into the bloodstream, these pollutants are able to reach vital organs," the researchers said in a statement.
Those who lost weight over 10 years had the highest concentrations of the compounds, which are known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
"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 told Reuters.
The team factored in age, gender and race to help explain the differences in concentrations of these pollutants, but weight history still remained a factor.
Lee told Reuters that more studies were needed to establish if this type of harm outweighed the benefits to be gained from weight loss.
—
On the Net: