Most overweight people who try to shed pounds are unsuccessful, a new study argues.
According to findings, only about a quarter of obese people who tried to lose weight were able to keep off a substantial amount a year later.
The new survey, which is being shown to the European Congress on Obesity in the Netherlands, monitored information on adults from a range of countries - including France, Italy, Germany, the UK and Spain.
Scientists, led by Dr Marc Evans from University Hospital Cardiff, studied data on 1,850 obese adults with an average age of 53, of whom 79% said they had attempted weight loss in the last year.
Of those studied, 72% had gone on diets while others had also utilised exercise, medication, had surgery, or used weight loss apps.
Researchers found that among those who had attempted to lose weight, 73.4% had not achieved “clinically meaningful” weight loss.
Here is what the study found about the following weight loss methods, which are likely to work, and the least affective.
Weight Loss Surgery
Those who had surgery were most likely to have lost weight – with half losing at least 5% of their body weight. Some 32% of those who used digital health applications lost weight and three in 10 who took part in a weight loss service lost weight.
Medication/Exercise
Meanwhile, 30% of those who had medication or took up exercise lost a clinically meaningful amount of weight.
Diets
The study found that only 28% of people who embarked on a calorie controlled or restricted diet lost a significant amount of weight.
Combination
But researchers learned that people who had tried more than one method of weight loss – for example exercise plus a calorie controlled or restricted diet – were more likely to have achieved weight loss.
Just 22% of those who just attempted one weight loss strategy had shed a significant proportion of body weight compared to 33% who used a combination of weight loss tools.
“Our survey results indicate that while the majority of adults with obesity are actively trying to reduce their weight, using a variety of strategies, most are unsuccessful,” said Dr Evans.
He continued: "This underscores the need for increased support and solutions for weight management."
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