Research

Hormonal

Weight reduction significantly lowers fasting plasma triglyceride and cholesterol levels, with the magnitude of reduction directly proportional to the initial triglyceride level.

If you have high triglycerides, losing weight is a highly effective treatment, especially if your levels are currently very high. You do not need to reach a 'normal' weight to see significant improvements in your blood lipid profile; even modest weight loss (around 11 kg on average in this study) can drastically lower triglycerides and cholesterol. The key is sustained caloric restriction leading to weight loss, not necessarily achieving a specific 'ideal' body weight.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
we have observed marked decreases after weight reduction in fasting plasma TG (mean value: pre-weight reduction, 319 mg/100 ml; post-weight reduction, 180 mg/100 ml) and cholesterol (mean values: pre-weight reduction, 282 mg/100 ml; post-weight reduction, 223 mg/100 ml) levels, with a direct relationship between the magnitude of the fall in plasma lipid values and the height of the initial plasma TG level.
Jerrold M. Olefsky et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1974

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial design with pre/post measurements in a specific clinical population (hyperlipoproteinemic subjects), though not a long-term outcomes study.

Source

Effects of Weight Reduction on Obesity STUDIES OF LIPID AND CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM IN NORMAL AND HYPERLIPOPROTEINEMIC SUBJECTS

Jerrold M. Olefsky et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1974

DOI 10.1172/jci107560

crossover · n=36Cited 515×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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