It has become well accepted that moderate weight loss improves cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. In a study by Case and colleagues of obese individuals enrolled in a medically supervised rapid weight loss program study, 1 year of consecutive patients’ charts was reviewed to determine the response to diet-induced weight loss. Out of 185 individuals, 125 (68%) met the NCEP definition of the metabolic syndrome.
At 4 weeks, a moderate decrease in weight (6.5%) induced by a very low calorie diet resulted in substantial reductions of systolic (11.1 mm Hg) and diastolic (5.8 mm Hg) blood pressure, glucose (17 mg/dL), triglycerides (94 mg/dL) and total cholesterol (37 mg/dL) (all P<0.001). These improvements were sustained at the end of active weight loss (average 16.7 weeks; total weight loss 15.1%), with further significant reductions in blood pressure and triglycerides. Weight loss was related to the changes in each criterion of the metabolic syndrome.
The authors concluded that moderate weight loss markedly improved all aspects of the metabolic syndrome.

Case CC, Jones PH, Nelson K, O’Brian Smith E, Ballantyne CM. Impact of weight loss on the metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2002;4:407-414.