Midlife weight loss ‘too late to turn back tide’

MIDLIFE weight loss does not reduce a person’s risk of an early death because the damage has already been done, scientists have warned.

Researchers examined the data of 24,205 people and found 3.2 per cent of deaths would have been avoided if everyone with a body mass index in the “obese” range at age 25 had been able to slim down to the “overweight” category by midlife.

However, a similar reduction in death risk was not found in participants who lost weight later in life. Researchers suggested this was because midlife weight loss was more closely tied to an ageing person’s worsening general health.

Dr Andrew Stokes, of Boston University School of Public Health, said the results indicated an “important opportunity” to educate younger people about the risks of obesity.