Study: Obese men have just a '1 in 210' chance of attaining a healthy body weight
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RBracken34 wrote: »I've always been an overachiever in other areas of my life. Knowing the odds are stacked against me only makes me fight harder to overcome them!
I have overcome a hell of a lot in my life... in three years I went from being a broke, pregnant college student on welfare to a thriving single mom making enough to send my kid to private preschool and pay off my student loans, despite the fact that my caseworker basically flat out told me that the chances of me making it out of poverty were slim to none. Screw the odds! I make my own future. Knowing I'm beating the odds just pushes me more. I can do this. I will do this.
Thanks for the motivation!
You're my hero!!!!0 -
Is this today's bingo thread?
I'll be the first to say I'm not going to get to a healthy weight. I have no plans to keep losing weight for the next 3 years to get down to 132# (highest weight to be "healthy" for my height according to BMI). I decided to be okay with 150# if I can get there by October this year.0 -
LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »
But what are the odds for people who spend all of their time and energy searching for excuses to fail?Reading the article, it looks like the study is only looking at the data from British health records. There's no indication that many of the people included in the study dataset even had been on a deliberate weight loss plan. The statistic is possibly skewed more heavily towards failure if they aren't evaluating for individual plans or commitment levels (self initiated vs. doctor recommended).
Unfortunately a lot of people will take that one piece of information to justify their own defeatist mindset and give themselves permission to fail
Yeah, the article seems a bit sensationalizing (shocking, I know). Nowhere does it mention that anyone was trying to lose weight?Each year obese men have a one in 12 chance of achieving five per cent weight loss, rising to one in 10 among women. But 53 per cent of people who had achieved this regained the weight within a year, and after five years, only 22 per cent had maintained their weight loss.
This part is more telling. Of those that DID lose weight, 22% maintained it for 5+ years. That's a lot better than the <.5% chance they are quoting.
Furthermore, they talk about losing 5% of weight? For a 200lb person that's only 10lbs. My weight can fluctuate more than that inside of a week. Again, no mention of whether these people were even trying to lose that weight. It could have just been slight shifts year to year. I'd like to see the stats for people who consciously were trying to lose weight and lost a more reasonable amount (say 10-20% or higher). I'm guessing it's a whole lot higher than 1 in 210.
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I actually enjoyed smoking and would have much preferred being able to continue doing it every day in smaller amounts. I did so for a while and doing less of it was a lot easier than giving it up completely.6502programmer wrote: »Meh. I quit smoking my first attempt. This is cake compared to nicotine.
I actually disagree with this. Quitting smoking is difficult, yes. No doubt about that. But, once you quit, you never have to touch it again. You have to find a way to live with food forever.0 -
This story has been reported in quite a few news sources here in the UK and the way it's being reported is really, really bugging me. It seems to imply that there's no point even trying to lose weight because it's impossible to succeed. I know enough people who claim "I'm big and that's just how I'm built/I'll never lose weight now", and now there's 'scientific backing' to prove their point, they're going to feel even more helpless.
Really the whole thing is bullcrap because I'm betting the success rate among people who actively want to change and who put the effort it is much higher than these random numbers.
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Hold on because I am still classified as obese ( 42 to now 30.7 on crap BMI). My goals are not to be into the healthy weight range If I do it correct. Correctly I mean by being overweight and still a decent low body fat%. This article does not account for the fact that maybe these obese people just don't want to be in the normal BMI category.0
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“Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight,” said Dr Alison Fildes.
That quote is so irresponsible. It gives people an excuse.
A better one would have been “Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight because news articles like this lead to the obese public to believe there is nothing they can do and its not their fault."
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“Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight,” said Dr Alison Fildes.
That quote is so irresponsible. It gives people an excuse.
A better one would have been “Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight because news articles like this lead to the obese public to believe there is nothing they can do and its not their fault."
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@RBracken34 - That is fantastic!!! Good job and way to not only kick *kitten*, but set a fabulous example for child and other people!0
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LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »
I actually enjoyed smoking and would have much preferred being able to continue doing it every day in smaller amounts. I did so for a while and doing less of it was a lot easier than giving it up completely.6502programmer wrote: »Meh. I quit smoking my first attempt. This is cake compared to nicotine.
I actually disagree with this. Quitting smoking is difficult, yes. No doubt about that. But, once you quit, you never have to touch it again. You have to find a way to live with food forever.
I did that for about 6 months or so after I "quit". Once or twice a week I'd bum a smoke from someone. But after 6 to 8 months, I was able to kick it for good. It's been over 12 years now and there is zero desire. There will always be desire for food LOL.
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LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »
I actually enjoyed smoking and would have much preferred being able to continue doing it every day in smaller amounts. I did so for a while and doing less of it was a lot easier than giving it up completely.6502programmer wrote: »Meh. I quit smoking my first attempt. This is cake compared to nicotine.
I actually disagree with this. Quitting smoking is difficult, yes. No doubt about that. But, once you quit, you never have to touch it again. You have to find a way to live with food forever.
I did that for about 6 months or so after I "quit". Once or twice a week I'd bum a smoke from someone. But after 6 to 8 months, I was able to kick it for good. It's been over 12 years now and there is zero desire. There will always be desire for food LOL.
Food is not a bad vice. Smoking is.
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@kjurassic and @karllundy
Awww... thanks! It's not easy some days, but it's totally worth it!
Everyone here keeps me motivated in one way or another.
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i found 61% of the responses here somewhat entertaining. 0
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“Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight,” said Dr Alison Fildes.
That quote is so irresponsible. It gives people an excuse.
A better one would have been “Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight because news articles like this lead to the obese public to believe there is nothing they can do and its not their fault."
Quote mining, it's a thing. We have no idea what the Dr was asked, what the whole quote was etc.0 -
“Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight,” said Dr Alison Fildes.
That quote is so irresponsible. It gives people an excuse.
A better one would have been “Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight because news articles like this lead to the obese public to believe there is nothing they can do and its not their fault."
Nah.
Anybody deterred by something as small as a random quote in a random article was going to fail at the first sighting of a Snickers bar anyway.
The Doc is right, there's no getting around that.0 -
jennifer_417 wrote: »I don't think of it I terms of "odds" or "chances." It's not the lottery where you buy a ticket and hope it's the winning one. When you make the right choices, the weight comes off, every time. When you keep making the right choices, it stays off.
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The harder you work, the luckier you get.0
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I feel sorry for the other 209, I'll do what I can to help.0
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Seems fairly accurate. Not 100% sure but close enough. Rounded to whole numbers.
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Just from my experience.
Maybe 1 out of every 10 obese (not overweight) people I deal with, commit to losing weight. The other 9 give it a go and usually quit after no more than a month. So I can see how the statistics may ring true.
Let's look at the stats: 65% of the US is overweight or obese. Half of that percentage is applied to the obese. And it's getting higher with parents who grew up obese, becoming adults and raising obese children.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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To quote Mark Twain "Lies, Damn Lies and statistics"
To quote Myself F everyone else, I can do those, and when I am done their will have beena 100% chance of be succeeding.0 -
I just wanted to stop by this thread and say that six months later I'm down a sum total of 72 lbs with 38 lbs left to my goal weight. Like I said, screw the odds. I make my own future. Anyone else still here?0
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RBracken34 wrote: »I just wanted to stop by this thread and say that six months later I'm down a sum total of 72 lbs with 38 lbs left to my goal weight. Like I said, screw the odds. I make my own future. Anyone else still here?
Good for you! And screw statistics!0
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