Heard a statistic that basically nobody can truly lose weight, is it BS?

Trestjerner wrote: »

An overweight and very negative friend told me today that, I shouldn't bother trying to lose weight because only 3% manage to keep the weight of and the rest will gain it all back and then some. That statistic sounded...less then credible to me, but she couldn't give me any evidence for it except to point me towards a fat acceptance blog.

My question; Is the statistic as BS as it sounds like? Where does it come from and how can I debunk it for her?

I've read the source for that. It's from a HAES advocate who gathered the data from a very "scientific" sampling of about 4 people she knew.

Try looking at the National Weight Control Registry for a brain palate cleanser.

Let's say other people do fail. How does that mean you will?

ceoverturf wrote: »

I can't cite any specific sources, but yes I think the conventional wisdom is that at least 90% of dieters tend to fail over the long-term.

Editorially...I think it has to do with the prevalence of gimmicks and fad diets that do not teach sustainability in the long term

I also think it has to do with the seriousness of the effort involved in the loss and totally agree with the issue of sustainability and fads/gimmicks.

Even weight loss studies are carried out with unsustainable methods. As long as dieting is looked at as something you "do" and then "stop", people will struggle with weight regain.

I like the idea of the disease model of obesity because it addresses the idea that it's a chronic issue that needs ongoing management. The formerly obese will always need to manage their disease through some sort of watchfulness.

Did you know that 73.6% of statistics are made up?

Your friend sounds like a miserable person who wants other people to be miserable too.

If you truly want to lose weight you have to commit for the long-term. There are no fad diets or quick fixes that are going to keep the weight off long-term. Slow and steady wins the race.

I reached my goal in November of 2011. I've maintained at +/- 3 pounds since then.
You can do anything you want to IF you want to bad enough.

5% is the number I've heard and here is the source for that:

95% Regain Lost Weight. Or Do They?

It is a depressing article of faith among the overweight and those who treat them that 95 percent of people who lose weight regain it -- and sometimes more -- within a few months or years.

That statistic has been quoted widely over the last four decades, in Congressional hearings, diet books, research papers and seminars. And it is the reason so many people approach dieting with a sense of hopelessness.

But in fact, obesity researchers say, no one has any idea how many people can lose weight and keep it off. Now, as researchers try to determine how many people have succeeded, they are also studying the success stories for lessons that might inspire others to try.

''That 95 percent figure has become clinical lore,'' said Dr. Thomas Wadden, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. There is no basis for it, he said, ''but it's part of the mythology of obesity.''

Dr. Kelly D. Brownell, the director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, said the number was first suggested in a 1959 clinical study of only 100 people. The finding was repeated so often that it came to be regarded as fact, he said.

Since then, nearly all studies of weight-loss recidivism have followed patients in formal hospital or university programs, because they are the easiest to identify and keep track of. But people who turn to such programs may also be the most difficult cases, and may therefore have especially poor success rates.

To get a more accurate picture, two researchers are studying long-term dieters for a project called the National Weight Control Registry, and have found it surprisingly easy to collect success stories. About half the people who maintained a substantial weight loss for more than a year had done it on their own, they found. This suggests that many people have found ways to lose weight and keep it off, but have never been counted in formal studies.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/25/health/95-regain-lost-weight-or-do-they.html