Draconian diet, sports exercise or drug treatment, these weight loss strategies are not very effective in obese people. This is the conclusion of a study presented at a European congress on obesity in the Netherlands. Scientists also underline the lack of appropriate follow-up and care for these people who nevertheless have an increased risk of being sick or hospitalized.
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” The results of our study indicate that while the majority of adults in obesity actively tries to lose weight using a variety of strategies, most are unsuccessful explains Dr. Marc Evans of Cardiff University. He and his colleagues presented the results of a study conducted in six European countries on the difficulties of obese people to lose weight at the congress of theEuropean Association For The Study Of Obesity which is currently being held in Maastricht in the Netherlands. The publication detailed has not yet been published in due form but it has been proofread by the members of the scientific committee of the congress.
Difficulties losing weight
Between May and June 2021, scientists surveyed 1,850 obese people (BMI greater than or equal to 30) on their demographic profile, the treatments they take, the strategies they put in place to lose weight and their weight changes over the past year via an online questionnaire. These data have made it possible to establish statistics that highlight the lack of support and effective strategy for the management ofobesity.
Losing weight is not a matter of willpower; 79% of respondents said they had tried to losing weight in the year thanks to a restrictive diet (72%), a sports training program (22%) or drug treatment (12%) but three-quarters of them did not succeed in sufficient proportions to improve their health. Among the strategies put in place, that of a restrictive diet and sports training give the worst results. For a third of the respondents, their attempt to lose weight had the opposite effect and they took weight rather than losing it.
Accumulating health problems
In addition to weight issues, study participants also reported suffering from at least one obesity-related complication, led byhypertensionfollowed by a dyslipidemia, diabetes and osteoarthritis. The higher the BMI, the more complications accumulate; 38% of people with morbid obesity reported at least one complication compared to only 23% with moderate obesity. Obese people with multiple complications are more likely tobe hospitalized.
” This underscores the need for increased support and solutions for weight management. And while the impact of obesity on health is well known, our finding that a significant proportion of obese adults are at high risk for hospitalization or surgery due to multiple underlying diseases adds no doubt. a sense of urgency in the fight againstgrowing epidemic of obesity in Europe concludes Mark Evans.
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