Research

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Weight loss interventions, including caloric restriction and bariatric surgery, reduce levels of DNA damage and improve genomic stability in obese individuals.

If you are obese, losing weight is one of the most effective ways to protect your cells from DNA damage. Whether through dietary changes or surgery, reducing body fat lowers the inflammation and oxidative stress that harm your DNA. This benefit occurs even if you don't reach a 'normal' BMI, as any reduction in obesity-related stress improves genome stability.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
A significant decrease in levels of DNA damage was found after a low caloric diet-induced weight loss. Improvement of genomic stability, characterized by a reduction of oxidative damage in saliva, was observed also after bariatric surgery associated weight loss in patients with morbid obesity.
Marta Włodarczyk et al. · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2019

Why this rating

Based on limited intervention trials cited in a review paper.

Source

Obesity, DNA Damage, and Development of Obesity-Related Diseases

Marta Włodarczyk et al. · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · 2019

DOI 10.3390/ijms20051146

narrative_reviewCited 231×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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