Research

Energy balance

Gaining 9.0 kg (20 lb) or more over four years significantly decreases physical functioning, vitality, and increases bodily pain in women of all baseline BMI levels, regardless of age.

Avoid gaining weight, even if you are currently thin. Gaining 20 pounds or more over a few years will likely reduce your physical energy, increase pain, and limit your daily activities, regardless of your starting weight. Maintaining your current weight is the best strategy for preserving physical function.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Weight gain was associated with decreased physical function and vitality, and increased bodily pain regardless of baseline weight. For example, the odds ratio for developing role limitations due to physical problems was 2.05 (95% confidence interval, 1.69-2.49) for the leanest women who gained 9.0 kg (20 lb) or more.
Jennifer Fine · JAMA · 1999

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort (NHS), long follow-up, validated measures, but observational design limits causal inference regarding involuntary loss.

Source

A Prospective Study of Weight Change and Health-Related Quality of Life in Women

Jennifer Fine · JAMA · 1999

DOI 10.1001/jama.282.22.2136

cohort · n=45375Cited 419×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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