Is Successful Weight Loss A Reality?

A recent study US adults by Harvard research examined data from the 2001-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This secondary analysis of the NHANES data looked at sub-sample of 4021 obese adults 20y and older and found that 63% reported that they had tried to lose weight in the past year. Of the 2523 who reported they attempted to lose weight the previous year they were asked what method(s) they had utilized to try to shed excess pounds. Dr. Nicklas and?associates then performed a multi-variant analysis on the 2523 adults to determine which factors appeared to increase the odds of successful weight loss. Of those who attempted to lose weight 40% (1026) were successful at losing at least 5% of their weight and 20% (510) reported losing at least 10% of their weight. Clearly this data shows that a tad more than 60% of obese Americans who attempt to lose weight are?in fact successful at dropping enough weight to have a meaningful improvement in their health - especially if that excess weight were kept off long-term.Dr. Nicklas found that the most commonly reported weight loss strategies included eating less, exercising more, eating less fat, and switching to low calorie foods. Only a small percentage of subjects used prescription drugs, liquid diets, popular fad diets, took nonprescription supplements, or joined commercial weight loss programs. Among the most commonly employed weight loss strategies cutting back on dietary fat and exercising more were found in multi-variant analysis to be the most effective at losing at least 5% and 10% of body weight. Prescription weight loss drugs and joining a commercial weight loss program also significantly increased the odds of losing at least 5% or 10% of initial body weight. Strategies that failed to lead to significant weight loss included non-pre- scription supplements & herbs, special diets and liquid formula diet aids, switching to commercial calorie reduce foods and even eating less food. Drinking lots of water and skipping meals appeared to minimally effective?at best. Eating special diet foods or products was not only ineffective but the only strategy that was significantly associated with an increased risk of failing to lose excess pounds. The latter finding seems a bit paradoxical on the surface as most commercial weight loss programs require the purchase of special diet foods?or meals. This suggests that the ?special diet foods and meals??that accompany most commercial weight loss programs cannot explain their success. More likely the success of commercial weight loss programs comes from social support, an exercise component, and/or nutrition and health education.What Does this Study?Suggest?While prescription drugs were somewhat effective at producing weight loss in the first year they are used, most such drugs are not FDA-approved for long term use and they all can cause adverse side effects. Therefore, drugs do not appear to be a safe and effective long term solution. Nonprescription diet pills did?not even significantly increase the odds of losing weight in the short-term and there is little data on their long term safety. Trying to eat less no doubt failed largely because people soon get hungrier and abandon this strategy. Drinking lots of water and skipping meals appeared to minimally effective at best. That pretty much leaves cutting back on fatty foods and doing more exercise as the only really safe and effective weight loss strategies that are likely to work, at least over a one year period.Short-term we know that cutting fat and boosting activity produces significant weight loss even when people are not trying to lose weight. For example, a study published in the Jan. 26, 2004 Archives of Internal Medicine found that older Americans?who were placed on a low-fat (18% en.) or a high-fat (41% en.) diet under the pretext of improving their cardiovascular health saw no change in body weight on the high-fat diet, while those assigned to the low-fat (18% fat calories) lost 7lbs on average after 12 weeks. A third group that followed the same ad libitum low-fat diet but also were instructed to do 45 minutes of aerobic exercise 4X per week lost 10.5lbs over 12 weeks. Long-term follow-up of the Women?s Health Initiative showed that reducing % fat aids weight loss over 1 to 3 years but its effectiveness is modest in the long term perhaps because compliance with fat restriction tends to wane without ongoing expert dietary counseling.1By James J. Kenney, PhD, FACNReferences:1. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;93:516-24