A study finds what people who can't lose weight do wrong

What makes some people lose weight more easily than others? What do we do wrong when it comes to proposing to lose a few kilos to not only not achieve it but also increase our body weight? These are the questions that a new study from Ohio University, which analyzed data from more than 20,000 American adults, attempts to answer. Through their research, they discovered clues about what stops us from losing weightdespite eating less or taking diet pills.

Firstly, the work finds a relationship between those who start following a healthier diet and increase physical exercise with weight loss that also reduces the risk of heart disease. On the contrary, it associates skipping meals and taking pills to lose weight with minimal weight loss, weight maintenance or even weight gain. The research, recently published in the journal Journal of the American Heart Associationis the first to compare weight loss strategies with results in the context of the American Heart Association (AHA) “8 Essentials of Life.”

It's about a list of eight tips that promote reduced risk of heart disease ranging from sleeping more to having less cholesterol or better blood pressure, not smoking, being physically active, controlling weight or blood sugar. For this study, all factors were measured and it was found that the more they are filled, the easier it is to lose weight.

Thus, within the sample, 17,465 people lost less than 5% of body weight, they maintained their weight or increased it. The other 2,840 declared intentional loss of at least 5% of body weight over the same period.

In this study, adults with clinically significant weight loss reported greater diet quality, particularly higher scores for protein, refined grains, and added sugar intake, as well as greater moderate and vigorous physical activity and lower LDL cholesterol than the group without clinically significant weight loss. On the other hand, the weight loss group also had a higher average BMI and HbA1c blood sugar measurement, as well as fewer hours of sleep, which would reduce the composite Life's Essential 8. risk of heart disease.

“Clinically significant weight loss is associated with improvements in some health indices,” says lead study author Colleen Spees, associate professor of medical dietetics at the Ohio State School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. “But people should feel hopeful knowing that losing just 5% of your body weight is significant in terms of clinical improvements. This is not a big weight loss. It’s achievable for most and I hope it encourages people rather than paralyzes them with fear of failure.”

What did people who didn't lose weight do wrong?

A greater proportion of people than they didn't lose at least 5% of your declared weight skipping meals or using prescription diet pills as weight loss strategies. Other strategies in this group were low-carb and low-liquid diets, use of laxatives or vomiting, and smoking.

“We saw that people continue to gravitate towards non-evidence-based approaches to weight loss, which are not sustainable. What is sustainable is changing behaviors and eating patterns”, says Spees. One idea to consider would be to prescribe regular visits to registered dietitians trained in behavioral prevention.

For many of the participants in the study sample, 5%’s “clinically significant” loss of body weight did not eliminate your risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In fact, the combined mean score for eight heart disease risk factors was the same across the entire study population, regardless of whether weight changes were recorded – up or down.

Ohio State University researchers found that overall, American adults had an average score of 60 out of 100 on all eight measures, suggesting there is plenty of room for improvement. even among those whose diet and exercise behaviors they helped move the needle on some metrics.

“Life's Essential 8 is a valuable tool that provides the building blocks for cardiovascular health, many of which are modifiable through behavioral change“ said lead study author Colleen Spees, associate professor of medical dietetics at the Ohio State School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

“Based on the results of this study, we have a lot of work to do as a country,” he said. “Although there were significant differences in several parameters between the groups, the fact is that, Taken together, adults in this country are not adopting the 8 behaviors essential elements of life that are directly correlated with heart health.