How Weight Loss Can Improve Your Cholesterol Numbers

Though cholesterol levels are often described in terms of “good” or “bad,” the overall picture isn’t that simple. One thing that does lead to healthier systemic cholesterol is losing weight. Simply, less fat in your body means reduced cholesterol.

What you eat affects your cholesterol, a fatty, waxy substance used by your body to stay healthy. The essential cholesterol you need is manufactured by your body, but it also enters your system through animal-sourced foods, including dairy and meat.

Though cholesterol levels are often described in terms of “good” or “bad,” the overall picture isn’t quite that simple. One thing that does lead to healthier systemic cholesterol is losing weight. Less fat in your body means reduced cholesterol.

At Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Dr. John Terzian and the team are high cholesterol management specialists.

In this blog, we’ll look at how weight loss can improve your cholesterol numbers so that you can build an effective strategy to reduce your risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease, and other potentially serious health conditions.

Body weight and cholesterol

There’s a relationship between your weight and the amount of cholesterol your body produces, roughly one milligram of extra cholesterol for one pound of added weight.

However, it’s the proportion between two types of cholesterol that’s the more critical factor. One type of cholesterol, called low-density lipoprotein (LDL), delivers fat to cells through the bloodstream.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) does the opposite and removes fat cells from the body. Generally, LDL is considered “bad” and HDL is the “good” form of cholesterol.

Problems begin when LDL levels climb. When there’s too much, fatty plaque deposits start to form on artery walls, which can block blood flow, leading to problems like heart attack and stroke.

Being overweight affects how your body manages cholesterol and triglycerides. These lead to risks like:

Increased fat tissue in your body
Insulin resistance, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes
Increased levels of inflammation in your body, which affects HDL management
Higher levels of fats in your liver

Triglycerides form from fat in your liver combined with glucose, causing an overproduction that in turn boosts cholesterol and other lipoproteins.

The benefits of weight loss

There’s an upward spiral of more fat making more cholesterol and triglycerides, so weight loss begins to interrupt that cycle. This, in turn, reduces harmful levels of inflammation in your body.

Weight loss accompanied by an active lifestyle can reverse insulin resistance, protecting you from type 2 diabetes.

You can see benefits after losing as little as 10 pounds. Modest weight loss can lower triglyceride levels, while losing more than 5% of your body weight significantly reduces total cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride levels.

Contact Bridgewater Primary Care & Cardiology, LLC, to enlist a partner in your weight management plan. Call or click to book your consultation today.

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