People can improve their health through dietary and lifestyle changes even if they do not lose weight, according to an international study.

The research, conducted by the universities of Ben-Gurion (Israel), Harvard (US), and Leipzig (Germany), focused on individuals described as "weight loss resistant" -- those who adopt healthy habits but struggle to shed pounds, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We have been conditioned to equate weight loss with health, and weight loss-resistant individuals are often labeled as failures,” said lead author Anat Yaskolka Meir, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School.