Five reasons why trying to lose weight is actually harming you

We've been told that the way to being healthy, happy, attaining ultimate fulfilment and being a good athlete is to lose weight and be skinny/lean/fit. But there are several problems with this idea, in this post I will explore why weight loss is not sustainable and generally leads to weight gain, how this damages our health. I'll also talk about what I do instead.

So why is weight loss not the focus of the work I do?

Occasionally, clients come to me no longer wanting to pursue weight loss, but more often than not they may still have some desire to lose weight. This is understandable given the emphasis placed on weight by society at large. As such I ask my clients to put their desire to instead consider how making changes could help them feel better in their body, support their health and wellbeing. There are a number of reasons that I ask clients to do this:

1. Weight itself has less of an impact upon health than we have been led to believe

The belief is that weight has a significant negative impact upon health. There are two points which are crucial to understand when considering this. The first is that when looking at epidemiological data those who fall into the "overweight" category, based upon BMI, have the highest longevity (Bacon and Amphramor, 2011). Secondly, it is important to note that the data linking upon data which demonstrates an association. That is to say that a higher weight is associated with worse health outcomes. This does not however mean that higher weight causes worse health outcomes.

When we take into consideration 'health behaviours' such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol intake, smoking, the effect of BMI on health outcomes/status is significantly reduced.

As an aside even if weight did improve health, since we have no proven method of making people lose weight permanently the argument is defunct. As Bacon and Amphramor (2011) put it, "That weight loss will improve health over the long-term for obese people is, in fact, an untested hypothesis. One reason the hypothesis is untested is because no methods have proven to reduce weight long-term for a significant number of people". which leads us to point 2.

2. Weight loss is not sustainable for the vast majority of people

Ask anyone who has tried to lose weight before and they will probably tell you that although they initially lost weight, they quickly regained it. For many people this will instigate feelings of failure and shame. But here's the kicker: people don't fail, diets fail. ALL. THE. TIME! The weight loss industry did not become a multi-billion dollar industry by accident.

These experiences are strongly supported by the scientific evidence - weight loss is not sustainable for the vast majority of the population. According to the evidence even when a calorie deficit is maintained beyond the five year mark, weight loss is not sustained (Bacon and Aphramor, 2011).

A question that is often posed by HAES practitioners and advocates puts this statistic into perspective for me is, "In what other area of medicine would we accept an intervention where the failure rate is so high".

3. Weight loss is the best predictor of weight gain

For the majority of people who intentionally set out to lose weight, we know that not only will they regain the weight they lost, but also that a lot of these people will regain more than they originally lost, making them heavier than when they originally started (Zhu, 2022). It is important to note, that I am not implying that weight gain is bad. Rather, diets worsen the very problem they purport to solve.

4. Weight cycling is damaging to our health

The process of weight loss and regain is known as weight cycling. A process that raises inflammation and harms our health. Weight cycling has been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases traditionally attributed to weight itself and death. A landmark study, the Framingham study, found that weight cycling resulted in an increased risk of death from heart disease, regardless of a persons starting weight (Lissner et al 1991). Additionally, there is some evidence that weight cycling can negatively impact on muscle mass (Rossi et al 2019). This is of concern not only for athletes who may benefit from higher muscle mass but also for general health and ageing.

5. Weight stigma is damaging to our health

Weight stigma can be defined as "the unequal or unfair treatment of people because of their weight" (Puhl, 2001). This stigma can be experienced in subtle and overt forms, from too small blood pressure cuffs at doctors offices through to reduced job opportunities and overt bullying.

The American Psychological Association (Abrams, 2022) explains the link between weight stigma and poorer health outcomes beautifully, "Weight stigma also undermines health behaviors and preventive care, causing disordered eating, decreased physical activity, health care avoidance, and weight gain (Tomiyama, A. J., 2014). Over the long term, it even increases the risk of mortality (Sutin, A. R., et al., 2015)."

So what do I do instead?

The answer is simple. I work with people to help them achieve a more peaceful relationship with food and their body and learn to eat in a way which supports their wellbeing, athletic performance and helps them feel good.

I do this through process called Intuitive Eating. Within this process we work towards removing morality (good vs bad) from foods and ways of eating, and instead to tune in to what actually helps you feel good. We are also able to incorporate gentle nutrition to support health and performance. If you want to learn more about intuitive eating check out this article which explains what Intuitive Eating is.

Does that mean I have to have totally let go of any desire to lose weight to work with you?

No, you don't have to have moved past the desire to lose weight (this takes work and time), but you do have to be open to:

- finding ways to measure your success, health and wellbeing outside your weight for example, your energy levels, your physical comfort, going to the toilet more easily or having more energy just to name a few

- doing things differently (ie not going on another diet)

If you would like to learn more about moving away from weight loss and learning how food and eating can support your physical and mental health and wellbeing, book in for an appointment with our non-diet dietitian Andrea.

By Dietitian Andrea Parker‍

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References:

Abrams, Z. The burden of weight stigma. 2022. 53: 2. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/news-weight-stigma

Bacon, L., Aphramor, L. Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift. Nutr J10, 9 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9

Puhl, 2001. 'Bias, Discrimination, and Obesity'. in Obesity Research, 9).

Lissner L, Odell PM, D'Agostino RB, Stokes J 3rd, Kreger BE, Belanger AJ, Brownell KD. Variability of body weight and health outcomes in the Framingham population. N Engl J Med. 1991 Jun 27;324(26):1839-44. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199106273242602. PMID: 2041550.

Rossi AP, Rubele S, Calugi S, Caliari C, Pedelini F, Soave F, Chignola E, Vittoria Bazzani P, Mazzali G, Dalle Grave R, Zamboni M. Weight Cycling as a Risk Factor for Low Muscle Mass and Strength in a Population of Males and Females with Obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2019 Jul;27(7):1068-1075. doi: 10.1002/oby.22493. PMID: 31231958.

Tomiyama AJ, Hunger JM, Nguyen-Cuu J, Wells C. Misclassification of cardiometabolic health when using body mass index categories in NHANES 2005-2012. Int J Obes (Lond). 2016 May;40(5):883-6. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2016.17. Epub 2016 Feb 4. PMID: 26841729.

Zhu, X., Smith, R. A., & Buteau, E. (2022). A meta-analysis of weight stigma and health behaviors. Stigma and Health, 7(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000352

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