Can Obese Person Lose Weight? A New Study Says Weight-Loss For Obese People Is Near Impossible

Losing weight isn't cakewalk, in fact it's a nearly impossible task for those who are obese, a new study confirms.

The chances are so slim for an obese man that there's only a one in 210 likelihood that he will manage to drop to a healthy body weight. An obese woman however faces a little better prospect, with one in 124 chance of losing weight. Those categorized with severe obesity, the chance for men is one in 1290 and for women, one in 677.

The study led by King's College London was performed using UK health records and its findings suggests that current weight management programs that are focused on dieting and exercising are effective when it comes to tackling obesity at a population or national level.

The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and it tracked the weight of 278,982 participants, according to records on GazetteReview.

There were 129,194 men involved in the study and 149,788 women, with the electronic health records being from 2004 through 2014. Scientists at King's College London also found that despite many patients being able to lose five percent of their body weight (with a one in 12 chance for obese men and one in 10 for women) more than half piled back on the pounds just within two years. However for 78 percent, this happened within five years.

The fresh findings have led experts to conclude that non-surgical weight treatment programs are ineffective and need a major shake-up amid spiraling obesity rates, News noted.

"Research to develop new and more effective approaches to obesity management is urgently required," the study concludes. "Obesity treatment programs should prioritize prevention of further weight gain along with the maintenance of weight loss in those who achieve it."

The study also calls for better public health policies on prevention to avoid obese people from having to wage a fruitless weight-loss battle.

Dr Kieron Rooney, University of Sydney obesity expert, said the problem with several diet-based treatment programs was that they centered on a short-term weight-loss goal with teaching individuals that it was actually an entire lifestyle change.

Dr. Rooney called for better guidelines.

"If you want people to maintain weight-loss, you need to have that level of education," Dr Rooney said.

"Our environment is just so built up to induce a lifestyle of excess, that it is so difficult to maintain one of restriction."

"We don't have a community that supports that."

Dr. Rooney noted that the new figures were based on averages, and urged people not to be disheartened as success stories existed.

"I am nervous when I hear odds like that," he said.

"It might be true for some, but for others losing weight might be as easy as waking up in the morning."

He said obesity could be treated, but it was a "matter of finding the right treatment and committing to it."  The study is published in the American Journal of Public Health.