A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that the chances of obese people attaining normal body weight are low.
Study researchers at King’s College in the U.K. analyzed electronic health records that covered 2004 to 2012 to track the weight of 129,194 men and 149,788 women.
Researchers discovered that only one in 12 obese men and one in 10 obese women were able to reduce their weight by five percent in a one-year period. Out of these patients, 53% of them regained the weight within two years and 78% regained it within five years.
The study also discovered that male participants with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 35 had a one-in-210 chance of regaining normal body weight; females in this BMI range had a one-in-124 chance. Only one in 1,290 men and one in 477 women who had a BMI of more than 40 were likely to reach their normal body weight.
The team concluded that obesity treatments should focus on preventing obese patients from gaining further weight as well as assist with sustaining weight loss.
Source for Today’s Article:
McNamee, D., “Odds of losing weight are stacked against obese people, study says,” Medical News Today web site, July 17, 2015; http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296970.php.