According to a new study published online in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say that obese patients who lose 5 percent of their body weight can reap the greatest health benefits. The researchers found that relatively small reductions in body weight significantly reduced the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in obese patients and improved metabolic function in liver, adipose and muscle tissue. Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Washington, randomly assigned 40 obese people without diabetes to maintain weight or diet to lose 5, 10 or 15 percent of their body weight. The researchers observed the participants’ systemic, organ system and cellular responses before and after weight loss. While other randomized clinical trials have evaluated the effects of different weight loss (levels) in obese individuals, this new study is believed to be the first trial to separate the results of a 5% weight loss from those of a 10% and greater weight loss. In the 19 study volunteers who lost 5% of their body weight, the function of insulin-secreting beta cells was improved, and insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue, liver and skeletal muscle tissue was improved. Weight loss of 5% was also associated with a decrease in total body fat and a reduction in liver fat.