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Weight loss

Feature: Benefits of losing weight

What benefits can you expect if you lose weight? Our fact sheet has helpful answers to some typical questions about losing weight, including “How can I stay motivated over the long run?”, “How can I keep my weight?”, and “Will my health improve quickly once I have lost weight?”

Feature: Exercise, weight loss and osteoarthritis

Being very overweight is a risk factor for osteoarthritis. Excess weight puts strain on knee and hip joints and favors wear and tear of the joints. Painful osteoarthritis can make it more difficult to get enough exercise – and this again often leads to putting on more weight and the symptoms getting worse. Read our fact sheet to find out about how helpful exercise really is and what kind of training is best suited for people with osteoarthritis.

Research summaries

Walking: What are the health benefits?

People who are currently very inactive can lose some weight and body fat, and increase their cardiovascular fitness, if they have four or more walks a week that last at least an hour in total. more...

Weight loss: What are the best ways to lose the extra weight gained in pregnancy?

It is normal for the extra weight gained in pregnancy to only be lost gradually in the months after childbirth. If not much of this weight has been lost within about six months or so, then dieting and exercise could help. Extreme efforts to lose weight might, however, have a negative impact on breastfeeding. more...

Weight loss: Can exercising help to keep the weight off?

People who try to lose weight by dieting and doing exercise could lose about 20 percent more weight than people who only diet. One year after losing weight the people had gained about half of the weight they had lost. But those who did exercise weighed less than those who were physically inactive. more...

Hypertension: Does losing weight reduce high blood pressure?

Losing weight by dieting (with or without exercise) or by using the drug orlistat can lower high blood pressure in the short term. It is not clear whether weight loss alone can protect against long-term harm from hypertension. more...

Quitting smoking: Can I maintain my weight when I quit smoking?

Nicotine replacement therapy could help a little to maintain your weight for a short time when quitting smoking. Physical exercise might also help to maintain your weight. more...