Lincoln (UK), Sep 4 (The Conversation) Weight loss is often seen as a matter of personal willpower, yet it actually involves a complex interplay of biological, genetic, environmental, and social factors. Behind the allure of miracle diets and the simple advice to "eat better" or "move more" lies a more sophisticated scientific truth: our bodies are naturally resistant to weight loss, and societal inequities significantly impact this. Five popular misconceptions need to be reconsidered to better understand what "losing weight" truly entails.
Weight loss is a frequent topic in public conversations, often reduced to personal responsibility. But after nearly fifteen years researching health and nutrition, I've noticed that weight is approached differently from most other health issues. Individuals are regularly blamed for their weight, despite strong evidence pointing to a complex mix of genetic, biological, environmental, and socioeconomic influences.
Limited access to affordable healthy food, and lack of opportunities to exercise—especially because of unsuitable venues, long working hours, and chronic stress—are more prevalent in underserved areas, making it substantially harder to maintain a healthy weight. Here are five key insights about weight loss that merit attention:
1. It opposes our biological makeup. Obesity has been recognized as a national health priority in England since the 1990s, with many policies enacted to tackle it. Despite this, obesity rates haven’t declined. In France, as of 2020, the prevalence of excess weight (both overweight and obesity) was 47.3%, including 17% obesity, indicating that strategies largely focused on personal accountability are ineffective.
Even when weight loss techniques work, results are often temporary. Research shows most people regain the lost weight, and the odds of an obese person achieving and maintaining a "normal" weight are low. This is partly because our bodies biologically resist weight loss, an evolutionary mechanism from our past: they fight back. This process, known as metabolic adaptation, involves changes to our metabolism and hunger hormones like ghrelin, which prompt us to eat more and restore lost weight.
This evolutionary response was beneficial in our hunter-gatherer past, marked by cycles of abundance and famine. However, today’s world, filled with cheap and accessible ultra-processed, high-calorie foods, triggers weight gain and hinders weight loss. If you struggle with weight, it's not a personal failure, but a predictable physiological response.
2. It's not merely about willpower. Some individuals can maintain their weight with ease, while others struggle. This isn’t just about willpower. Various factors determine body weight, including genetics, which influence calorie burn rate, hunger, and feelings of fullness. Some people are genetically inclined to feel hungrier or crave high-energy foods, making weight loss harder.
Environmental and social elements are also crucial. Adequate time and financial means for preparing balanced meals, engaging in regular exercise, and ensuring good sleep make a real difference, but these resources aren’t equally available to all. Ignoring these complex influences and viewing weight solely as willpower perpetuates stigma, which can increase stress and reduce self-esteem, making adopting healthy habits more challenging.
3. Calories aren't the sole focus. The default strategy for weight loss often involves counting calories. While creating a calorie deficit is theoretically necessary for weight loss, it’s practically much more complex. Nutritional data on foods is just an estimate, and daily energy needs fluctuate. The energy absorbed from food also varies based on cooking, digestion, and gut bacteria composition.
The idea that "a calorie is a calorie" is misleading. Our bodies process calories differently. For example, a cookie and a boiled egg may have identical calorie counts, but vastly different effects on hunger and energy levels. A cookie can cause rapid blood sugar changes, whereas an egg offers lasting satiety and higher nutrition.
These misunderstandings contribute to the popularity of fad diets, like protein shake plans or exclusion diets, leading to short-term weight loss but lacking sustainability and essential nutrients. A more feasible approach is adopting long-term changes: eating more whole foods, cutting takeout, reducing alcohol, and overall well-being improvement.
4. Exercise benefits health more than weight loss. Many assume more exercise leads to more weight loss, but reality is more complex. Our bodies conserve energy well; after vigorous workouts, we may instinctively move less or eat more, counteracting burned calories.
Studies show total daily energy expenditure isn’t increased by higher physical activity; instead, the body adapts to conserve energy elsewhere, making weight loss through exercise alone harder than expected. However, exercise offers a range of benefits: improved cardiovascular and mental health, muscle maintenance, bone strength, and reduced chronic disease risk, making it invaluable for health and life quality, even if the scale doesn’t reflect change.
5. Improving health doesn’t always require weight loss. Health can be enhanced without losing weight. Intentional weight loss may reduce risk for certain diseases, yet studies confirm better diet and increased activity improve health indicators like cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and insulin sensitivity, even with stable weight.
If the scale doesn’t show significant change, consider a different approach: a holistic one involving suitable diet, enjoyable physical activity, quality sleep, and stress management. Weight is merely one puzzle piece, and health encompasses far more. (The Conversation) SKS RD RD RD
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
