So I’ve just realized that I have dropped 2.6 BMI points so far this year and I was curious if there is some sort of rule of thumb for how much you increase your health by dropping a BMI point. Like plus half a year life expectancy or - x% chance of diabetes. If it matters I went from 40.7 - 38.1
There’s no single answer, since going from 40 to 39 is going to be very different than going from 10 to 9.
Well let’s assume you are something like 5’8" and you lost this weight with healthy diet and exercise … that means you went from something like 265 to 250 (roughly) or 5 to 6% of your body weight lost. If done with diet and exercise it was probably most central fat and you’ve also lost some inches of waist circumference. Pants might be a bit looser.
In general the bulk of the benefits from fat loss among the obese are gained with that 5 to 10% sustained body weight loss range assuming achieved with improved diet and exercise. Some broad brushstrokes of that reviewed here and here.
The benefits are not linear. Additional loss may give you more benefits but less than the first 5 to 10% (or 2.6 BMI points) did.
In short well done and keep the plan that is working for you!