results of 20year study reveal weight loss is unattainable

jmv7117

I should have remembered the link but there is a study that was just recently released stating that obesity is here to stay. a 20 year study proves that dieting at any level is not going to help you lose weight if you are overweight. The study goes on to state that only 5% of dieters are successful in losing weight and keeping it off.
The other 95% may lose the desired amount of weight but in every case they regain that weight and sometimes more over a period of 5-10 years.

It would be interesting to see what reasons the researchers gave for this observation. Many folks look at weight loss as a temporary thing aka diet. They go on a diet which by default means at some point they intend to go off the diet rather than making long term, lifestyle changes. For many, making a few changes for a short period of time is easy but sticking with those changes is difficult so they tend to gain the weight back then repeat the cycle again. Others make too drastic of changes that they just can't follow through on. The most successful folks with respect for weight loss are the ones who are dedicated to a lifestyle change often with an ethical or strong belief component.

For example, I was never outside my healthy weight zone and have been a clean eater for decades so my goal all along has been fitness not weight loss. My belief that getting fit is imperative and it is goal driven which means what I changed in combination to what I was already doing gives me an above average chance of not gaining any weight back and even if I did I would still be within my healthy weight range. In comparison, a person comes along who eats the SAD and goes on a weight loss program often after being told to lose weight has a higher chance of gaining any weight loss back because they really haven't made any lifestyle changes. They weren't really doing it for themselves in the first place AND the focus was on the number on the scale only not how their life would improve by eating healthier or how they would at some point maintain their new weight.

msf74

That's because traditional "dieting" is completely the wrong solution to keeping excess weight off.

Given it has been an unmitigated failure it is amazing so many people still do it.

jmv7117

Yeah, weight loss is unattainable.. People like me who lose weight and keep it off clearly don't exist.

You have an agenda that you are committed to so for now you are successful. If you lose sight of that agenda and go back to your old habits, you will gain back some or all of the weight.

neandermagnon

As another poster already pointed out, the abundant misinformation out there is probably the main cause of this finding. I was misinformed, used a diet product to get to my smallest adult weight ever, then promptly regained all the weight I lost plus more when I quit using the product. If doctors would spread correct information instead of prescribing diet pills and restrictive diets, that would be a start in the right direction.

^^^^^ this

while I think all these "I'm going to be one of the 5%" posts are great.... that percentage would be a lot higher if everyone started with good information and the right approach to begin with... doctors need much, much more training on this than they currently get. Obesity is a huge problem in the western world (and in a growing number of non-western countries) - the fact that doctors don't already get extensive training in helping people to combat obesity is really a massive oversight. At the moment people are bombarded with pseudoscience, fad diets and people trying to sell them weight loss, and it's really hard to tell who's giving good, sound advice and who's not, especially for people who don't have much of a scientific background.

To the person who suggested a "I've maintained for 5+ years" thread... please start that thread, because it's an excellent idea and everyone can benefit from the information, and it might change some people's mindsets from "must lose this weight as fast as possible" to "must figure out how to keep this weight off for life" - and get some really useful advice for how to do that in the process.

Iwishyouwell

There is another thread discussing this, or something similar.

Most of the pushback is from butthurt fat people, or formerly fat people, who don't like facing the abysmal truth; the overwhelming majority of fat people either stay fat, or end up fat again.

You don't really even need long term studies to bare this out. Of all the fat people who have ever been in your life, was there ever a considerable amount of people who either lost and became unfat, or never lost any substantial amount of weight? The reason we gravitate toward the success stories is largely because they're so rare.

I like knowing the general odds. It's a great reminder that this is a lifelong fight and that slipping into complacency for too long will absolutely lead me back to obesity. I loathed being fat with the heat of a billion twin Tatooine suns, and yet still I once regained all my weight, plus double.

Thems the breaks folks. We were all stupid to get fat in the first place (or our parents/guardians were stupid for letting us); the best line of defense against obesity is to never get fat in the first place. Now all of us are stuck fighting to be the very few people who will lose this weight AND even rarer, keep it off for good.

EvgeniZyntx

What does research actually say?

There is a general perception that almost no one succeeds in long-term maintenance of weight loss. However, research has shown that ≈20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least 1 y.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.long

The majority of weight lost by NWCR members is maintained over 10 years. Long-term weight-loss maintenance is possible and requires sustained behavior change.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24355667

What success factors matter?

Weight maintenance: self-regulatory factors underpinning success and failure.
McKee H1, Ntoumanis N, Smith B.
Author information

Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the differences in the contributing factors involved in weight maintenance success and failure.
DESIGN:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with both successful and unsuccessful weight maintainers. Eighteen participants were recruited (16 women), nine of who had lost 10% of their body weight and maintained this weight for a minimum of 12 months (Maintainers), and nine individuals who met the above criteria for weight loss but had subsequently regained their weight (Regainers). A thematic analysis was employed to compare the differences between the two groups.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:
Two main themes highlighted the differences between the two groups, these were: goal regulation and self-control. Within these overarching themes, successful weight maintenance was related to the following subthemes: long-term, realistic goal setting, consistent use of routines and self-monitoring, avoiding deprivation and effective coping skills. Unsuccessful maintenance was related to short-term unrealistic goal setting, inconsistent routines and self-monitoring, experiencing deprivation and poor coping skills. These factors are explained in terms of the interrelationships that they have on one another and their subsequent impact on weight maintenance success or failure.

CyberEd312

Well Thank Goodness, I am in that 5% then!!! :drinker:

Iwishyouwell

I actually love your overall list, but the following just is not true:

7 understand that whatever you do to get to goal weight you have to keep on doing to maintain it, so make sure that all the changes you make are ones you can stick to forever,

I could not eat for 40 days and if I'm able to transition into a healthy eating plan, I'll maintain. Maintenance isn't about doing the same thing you did to lose, it's about transitioning.

People fail at maintenance, regardless of how, or what rate, they lost because they fail at making the transition.

How you lose weight is far less important than how you transition into maintenance. The reason why "slow and steady" is pushed is because, for some people, maintenance should be theoretically easier if you lost weight in a similar way that you plan to maintain the weight. Great advice, but hardly universal.

And unfortunately all those people clinging to the idea that doing it the "right" way, or slapping a "lifestyle change" label on it, will somehow make the odds significantly better for them, are a bit delusional. The statistics are horrible for everyone, regardless of rate of loss, amount of loss, or method of loss.

Call it what you will, living in lands of overabundance, in bodies that were once fat, make the pull for the majority of people too strong to resist. Because when you measure how they even define the 5-10% who are "successful", the odds are even worse as that is not exclusive to people who have maintained substantial losses. Included in those successful percentages are the people who've managed to maintain even only 10% of their loss, or people who never had much to lose in the first place.

It's tough odds regardless.

8. weigh your food so you can be sure you're really eating the number of calories you think you are.

Good for some, but not for others. The few people I do know who lost, and kept it off for years, even decades, certainly never weighed their food. They just learned how to eat less and become more intuitive about their bodies actual needs and signals.

SoDamnHungry

You're right, we should all just stop trying. Thanks for saving me the time.

levitateme

Oh yay, another thread where people get angry because they find out they are going to eventually gain the weight back. :sad:

Everyone thinks they are in the 5% while they're in the middle/towards the end of weight loss. Statistically, most of you are going to gain it back. Just remember that figure, and don't get complacent when you move into maintenance. That's the bottom line.

FYI: I have gained and lost the same 30-40ish lbs multiple times. I plan to make this the last time, but I know that statistically, I will be fat again within a year.

yo_andi

Then to Science, I say:

LiftAllThePizzas

I should have remembered the link but there is a study that was just recently released stating that obesity is here to stay. a 20 year study proves that dieting at any level is not going to help you lose weight if you are overweight. The study goes on to state that only 5% of dieters are successful in losing weight and keeping it off.
The other 95% may lose the desired amount of weight but in every case they regain that weight and sometimes more over a period of 5-10 years.

95% of the time it doesn't work every time.

5% = never.

Obeekaybee.

Iwishyouwell

I've read this before:

There is a general perception that almost no one succeeds in long-term maintenance of weight loss. However, research has shown that ≈20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least 1 y.

This is a very poor measurement of "success".

It speaks volumes that the only way they saw even a still low 20% success rate was to make the criteria a 10% maintenance of your initial weight and a minimum of 1 year.

That sounds even worse to me, and always has.

cwolfman13

I should have remembered the link but there is a study that was just recently released stating that obesity is here to stay. a 20 year study proves that dieting at any level is not going to help you lose weight if you are overweight. The study goes on to state that only 5% of dieters are successful in losing weight and keeping it off.
The other 95% may lose the desired amount of weight but in every case they regain that weight and sometimes more over a period of 5-10 years.

The reason that 95% of people fail to keep the weight off is because 95% of people talk a good talk about "lifestyle change" but conceptually have no frackin' clue what that actually means. They suck on celery sticks and eat nothing but salads and do all kinds of other fadish cleanses and what not for months on end and never actually learn how to eat a proper balanced diet that optimizes nutrition and is sustainable long term. They also over do it with exercise and burn out and otherwise ultimately fail to realize that exercise and being active in general goes well beyond trying to lose weight. They fail to realize that you have to make regular exercise a part of your LIFE...as in FOREVER.

TL/DR: people fail to make anything resembling an actual lifestyle change despite talking a good talk. They torture themselves for several months and then just go back to their old habits. They fail to establish a new "normal."

LiftAllThePizzas

Given the percentage of the fitness industry that is composed of cheap, yet over-priced, MLM "dieting" products, and fitness equipment, and the prevalence of blogs, and trainers who promote BS like vegan smoothie cleanses, and fad diets, the results of this study are incredibly unsurprising. 95% of people gain the weight back because they don't know how to eat food in the correct amounts, and/or refuse to maintain a consistent, progressive exercise regimen.

Oh come on now, nobody is actually stupid enough to promote a vegan smoothie cleanse.

ninerbuff

I should have remembered the link but there is a study that was just recently released stating that obesity is here to stay. a 20 year study proves that dieting at any level is not going to help you lose weight if you are overweight. The study goes on to state that only 5% of dieters are successful in losing weight and keeping it off.
The other 95% may lose the desired amount of weight but in every case they regain that weight and sometimes more over a period of 5-10 years.

I'm thinking it's more 10% VS 90%. I will agree on this though. It's most easily seen from anyone's high school picture to a picture 20 years later. For many, life gets in the way and the priority of self improvement takes a back seat to family affairs, work, commute time, and lack of down time.
I don't think it's "unattainable", but it does take much more work than some are willing to put into it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

martinel2099

Not a fan of studies that I can't even see. I know you don't remember the link but that probably means it wasn't that great of a study in the first place.

I did the reveal thing and I've regretted it ever since. I did the super strict diet, succeeded in losing the weight, but learned nothing and gained it all back in 2 months. I learned nothing, it was a waste of time.

About a year after trying that I tried weight watchers and fitness pal soon after, with the understanding that I just need to create a small calorie deficit and record everything I eat. I'm now almost back to the weight I lost doing the reveal thing but I feel better and can still eat chicken wings, pizza, candy, soda and drink beer. I've also had plenty of "cheat days / weeks" so far this journey with the understanding that I'm human and that I just need to get back on the horse after.

I honestly don't even feel like I'm on a diet right now, that's the secret to weight loss. I plan to do this the rest of my life and I'm loving it.

120by30

Oh yay, another thread where people get angry because they find out they are going to eventually gain the weight back. :sad:

Everyone thinks they are in the 5% while they're in the middle/towards the end of weight loss. Statistically, most of you are going to gain it back. Just remember that figure, and don't get complacent when you move into maintenance. That's the bottom line.

FYI: I have gained and lost the same 30-40ish lbs multiple times. I plan to make this the last time, but I know that statistically, I will be fat again within a year.

The percentage they've come up with includes people using diet pills and other methods of losing weight besides learning how to control portions and eat less. Of course, people are going to regain the weight they lost. I did the same when I used plexus to lose weight. I wish whoever did this study would study only people who lose weight simply by controlling themselves to get their calorie deficit. I imagine the percentage of successful maintainers would be dramatically higher. It's a lot easier to maintain when you lose weight by learning better eating habits and then continue those habits. Just my $.02.

And I do realize that even calorie counters are not always successful with maintenance. But I'm willing to wager that the success rate is higher than 5%.

Iwishyouwell

Why do so many people here automatically assume all the studies done around weight loss and maintenance are based off participants who lost weight with pills/fad diets/cleanses/etc?


I've never seen a single person here post anything to back this assumption up. So it really just sounds, at this point, like wishful thinking.

agrafina

Why do so many people here automatically assume all the studies done around weight loss and maintenance are based off participants who lost weight with pills/fad diets/cleanses/etc?


I've never seen a single person here post anything to back this assumption up. So it really just sounds, at this point, like wishful thinking.

I was looking through pubmed for some citations to address that claim, and am not finding much to back it up. One study I found that looked at fast, moderate and slow losers one a 1200 calorie diet + behavioral therapy + extended care had pretty unimpressive maintained losses at 18 months (max was 5 lbs or so for the fast losers), and less (though not a statistically significant difference) for moderate and slow losers.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20443094

I would question the assumption that if only they looked at people who "made a lifestyle change" or counted calories we would see a higher success rate. The people in this study were prime candidates for "making a lifestyle change", given the behavioral component and extended care, and still could only maintain a 5 lb at most loss by 18 months.