Effects of weight-reduction on obesity-associated diseases.

Even moderate, but persistent weight-loss ameliorates most of the related diseases in obesity. Besides the consequences of the metabolic syndrome, this includes less well-known obesity-associated changes, such as impaired fertility, menstrual disorders, psychic changes, total leucocyte-count as a parameter of immunity and the impaired pulmonary function in asthma and sleep-apnoea. Life-expectancy is prolonged by diminution of visceral fat depots, whilst weight-loss by shrinking of fat-free body-mass seems to have a contrary effect.