Individual response to lifestyle interventions: a pooled analysis of three long-term weight loss trials

We explored the manifestations of individual weight loss (WL) response to long-term lifestyle interventions on cardiometabolic risk.

We pooled data from three large long-term lifestyle WL-intervention trials: 24-month DIRECT (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00160108; n = 322; 87% adherence), 18-month CENTRAL (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01530724; n = 278; 86% adherence), and 18-month DIRECT PLUS (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03020186; n = 294; 89% adherence). We analyzed longitudinal changes in cardiometabolic risk markers, including anthropometrics, blood biomarkers, and magnetic-resonance-imaging-assessed fat depots, and measured DNA-methylation, proteomics, and metabolomics. Among trial completers (n = 761, mean age = 50.4 years; 89% men, baseline body-mass-index = 30.1 kg/m2), mean WL was -3.3 kg (-3.5%). We classified participants as Successful-WL (36%) with relative-WL > 5%, WL-Resistant (28%) who did not lose or gained weight, and Moderate-WL (36%) with WL between 0% and 5%. Successful-WL achieved the greatest improvements in multiple health indicators. However, the WL-Resistant also showed some significant improvements, with increased high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLc) and decreased leptin and visceral fat (P < 0.05 vs. baseline). Overall, each 1 kg sustained lifestyle-induced WL was associated with improvements in lipid markers and insulin resistance [HDLc (+1.44%), triglycerides (-1.37%), insulin (-2.46%), HOMA-IR (-2.71%), leptin (-2.79%)] and intrahepatic-fat regression (-0.49 absolute-units)] and modest but significant change in systolic and diastolic blood pressures (-0.26% and -0.36%). We identified 12 significant methylation sites that are associated with Successful-WL (FDR < 0.05; AUC = 0.73).

While only ∼one-third of individuals achieved long-term WL, the Moderate-WL and WL-Resistant individuals could benefit improvements in visceral adiposity and cardiometabolic risk by shifting towards a healthy lifestyle pattern, beyond WL. Site-specific DNA methylation may predict an individual's likelihood of successful WL.

NCT00160108, NCT01530724, NCT03020186.