All the work that goes into losing weight in middle age could set you up for a longer, healthier life later, according to a new study.

A sustained weight loss of about 6.5% of body weight without medications or surgery in middle-aged people is linked to substantial long-term health benefits, said lead study author Dr. Timo Strandberg, professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Helsinki in Finland.

Those benefits included a reduction of risk for both chronic diseases and death from all causes.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open , analyzed data of about 23,000 people from three different groups across different time periods: one group from 1985 to 1988, another from 1964 to 1973, and a third between 2000 and 2013.

Researchers grouped the people in

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