A new study indicates that it is highly unlikely for clinically obese people with a high Body Mass Index (BMI) to shed enough pounds to reach a normal body weight, by using methods of diet and exercise, and skipping weight loss surgery. In fact, reaching the goal is nearly impossible for dieters who are morbidly obese.
The odds of an obese person reaching a healthy weight during a particular year was 1 in 210 among men, and 1 in 124 among women. Also, the likelihood was worse for morbidly obese people.
Study participants had more success losing weight to improve their health, which involved dropping 5 percent or more of their body weight. However, they were often unable to maintain the reduced weight.
Alison Fildes, a psychologist at University College London, was the lead researcher. She said that current methods to battle obesity are not helping most obese patients to achieve and maintain weight loss, according to CBS News.
The study tracked 278,000 obese people in the UK, from 2004 to 2014. It puts a spotlight on the difficulty of sustaining weight loss via a healthy diet and regular exercise alone.
Researchers defined "obese" by 3 measurements of BMI. The study included patients at least 20 years old, but did not include people who had undergone weight-loss surgery.
The higher a person's BMI was, the lower the odds that they would drop down to a normal body weight, and the figures were rock-bottom for the morbidly obese. Success rates were 1 in 1,290 males and about twice as high in women, at 1 in 677, according to MedPageToday.
Fildes' hypothesis is that obese people cannot access weight-loss inventions, or the ones available are not effective. Another possibility is that both situations are true.
Findings of the study were published in the American Journal of Public Health.