Research
Energy balance
Rapid weight loss (≥1 kg/week) significantly increases the risk of developing symptomatic gallstones in middle-aged women, whereas gradual weight loss does not.
If you are losing weight rapidly (1 kg or more per week), be aware that your risk of developing symptomatic gallstones more than doubles compared to those who lose weight more slowly. To minimize this risk, aim for a gradual weight loss of less than 1 kg per week, especially if you are a middle-aged woman.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Women who lost 1 kg or more per week had a relative risk of 2.3 for gallstone disease, as compared with women who lost less than 1 kg per week (P for trend <0.001).
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort study (Nurses' Health Study) with long follow-up and adjustment for confounders.
Source
Weight, Diet, and the Risk of Symptomatic Gallstones in Middle-Aged Women
Katie MacLure et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 1989
DOI 10.1056/nejm198908313210902
cohort · n=17013Cited 377×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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