Are Obese Patients Wasting Their Time dieting?

Anyone who is significantly overweight knows that it can be difficult or impossible to lose the weight and maintain the loss.

Unfortunately, a recent 10 year study confirms this. In the UK, researchers studied over 175,000 obese adults who had at least three BMI ( a more accurate way of determining obesity) measurements over a 10-year period.

For participants with simple obesity (BMI, 30.0–34.9) at baseline, the annual likelihood of attaining normal weight during follow-up was 1 in 210 for men and 1 in 124 for women. Among those who were initially morbidly obese (BMI, 40.0–44.9), the annual likelihood was just 1 in 1290 for men and 1 in 677 for women.

This is less than 1% for moderately obese individuals (about 40 pounds overweight) and close to .1% for those about 75 pounds or more overweight.

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302773

We are all failing on this epidemic and need to find new ways to approach it.

I always used to tell my patients that obesity is probably an evolutionary advantage in the days when food was scarce. Those who could maintain a low metabolic rate and store food more efficiently lived longer. Who knows?

Even if you don't lose weight, your health will be much much better on a proper diet and exercise regimen, and avoiding fast and sugary (and diet) foods.