Mixed
In women with suspected ischemia, a history of intentional weight cycling (defined as losing ≥10 lbs at least three times) is associated with a significantly lower rate of adverse cardiovascular outcomes compared to non-cyclers, despite having lower HDL-cholesterol levels.
For women with suspected heart issues, attempting to lose weight—even if they regain it and cycle multiple times—does not appear to increase their risk of heart attacks, stroke, or heart failure. In fact, these women had better outcomes than those who never tried to lose weight. This suggests that the intention and effort to manage weight may be beneficial, countering the fear that 'yo-yo' dieting is harmful.
Women who weight cycled more often (> 10 times) showed a trend toward lower HDL-C levels... Overall, 21% (46/221) of those with a history of weight cycling had a composite adverse cardiovascular event, compared to 29% (160/560) of those without such a history (p = 0.03)... contrary to our hypothesis, a history of weight cycling was associated with a lower rather than higher adverse cardiovascular event rate.
Why this rating
Prospective cohort study with multivariable adjustment, but observational design precludes causality and has limitations regarding generalizability to men or non-ischemic women.
Source
Weight cycling and cardiovascular outcome in women with suspected ischemia: A report from the NHLBI-sponsored WISE Study
C. Noel Bairey Merz et al. · PLoS ONE · 2018
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0207223
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