February 22nd, 2010
Although losing weight may improve your blood pressure and cholesterol, you don’t really feel the reduced risk for a heart attack or stroke. As you drop pounds, you may feel better and have more energy and possibly feel a reduction in problems with your hips, knees and back. But you may not be aware of all the good things that may be happening.
Overweight men have about a 30% higher chance of experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED). Overweight women may also experience sexual dysfunction and receive benefits from weight loss. (Borges R. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2009 Nov;6(11):2958-75.) A review of scientific studies found that lifestyle modifications (basically the same as recommended in the OneSizeFitsMe program) provide significant benefits to vascular health and erectile function in a population that is increasingly aged and more obese. (Hannan JL. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2009 Mar;6 Suppl 3:254-61.) In one study, people who lost an average of 33 pounds and were more physically active had significant improvement in sexual function. Another longer-term study found that “It is possible to achieve an improvement of erectile function in men at risk by means of nonpharmacological intervention aiming at weight loss and increasing physical activity.” (Esposito K. Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2009 Jan;6(1):243-50.)
A study examining the effects of gastric bypass surgery on men with morbid obesity found that these people commonly suffer from profound, but reversible sexual dysfunction. (Dallal RM. Journal of the American College of Surgery. 2008 Dec;207(6):859-64.
In 2009 scientists noted that obesity is associated with an increased incidence of urinary tract problems in men and women. “There is abundant evidence that indicates a correlation between obesity and several urological diseases, but little information regarding the effects of long-term weight loss on these conditions. However, the preliminary data indicate that the detrimental effects of obesity are reversible, and that long-term weight loss may decrease the incidence and severity of urological disease.” (Natarajan V. Journal of Urology. 2009 Jun;181(6):2424-9.)
In future postings we will cover the positive impacts of weight loss on other conditions including: fertility, varicose veins, depression, reflux esophagitis, sleep problems including abnormal breathing during sleep (GERD), gout, reducing infections and complications of operations.
January 22nd, 2010
Each new year about half of adults in the U.S. make New Year’s resolutions. The most popular of these are related to quitting smoking, losing weight and increasing physical activity. In 2002, researchers found that 46% of people who made a firm resolution to change were successful after six months compared to 4% on non-resolvers.
These researchers found that people who succeeded in making changes were more likely to: 1) just feel a strong commitment about wanting to change and use a belief in strong will power to help them; 2) avoided situations related to the problem (for example going to bars where they used to smoke, buying a lot of high fat foods when dieting, etc.); and 3) keep things around to remind them not to give in to the problem.
People who were not successful tended to: 1) focus on how the problem was hurting them; 2) had more wishful thinking (i.e. wished that the problem would just go away); and 3) made light of it or refused to get too serious about changing.
It is important to note that getting resolved to make a change can be done any time of year—not just at the start of a new year. Just taking the step to make a resolution to yourself seems to be very helpful.
Failed past attempts do not predict how you will do this time and more attempts to make changes increase your chances of success.
(Details on this study are published in Norcross JC et al. Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol. 58(4) pages 397-405.)
January 18th, 2010
The TV show The Biggest Loser has been a big hit for NBC. Many people watching this show have learned much about weight management and found inspiring examples of determination and success. The amount of weight people are losing this season ranges between 4 and 15+ pounds per week or one to three percent of total body weight. This is achieved entirely through learning how to safely increase physical activity and improving eating patterns.
Contestants have a unique opportunity in that they are immersed in a supportive culture 24/7 with a professional and medically supervised staff. Many contestants who are sent home have continued to implement changes and lose significant amounts of weight.
The variety of contestants with their wide range of body types should encourage people who have come to believe that their body just can’t lose weight the way other people can. You see almost all contestants losing four pounds or more each week, week after week. It can be done.
Yet these people are getting a level of support most of us could never afford. You can learn most of these same principles from other well designed evidence-based weight management approaches—even if you don’t have the incentives and hands-on professional support each day.
Several of the contestants on The Biggest Loser have baseline weights in the 300 to 500+ range. This makes it possible for them to lose such large amounts each week—and they deserve credit for each pound lost. In the OneSizeFitsMe program we recommend a more modest goal of one to two pounds per week. If you are very heavy you may be able to easily exceed this goal. But most people using our program will not have the incentives, time, support staff or medical supervision to match the weight loss rates achieved on the program.
If you haven’t seen The Biggest Loser, you might want to check it out as it might be a good resource to help you. We have no relationship with this show or NBC.
December 20th, 2009
Understanding the results of medical research can be frustrating. Often TV, newspapers and magazines cover anything related to diets because consumers are so interested. This coverage is often superficial, distorted and in some cases tainted by people using a news-type approach to market their own product.
If you want to know more, it is now very easy to access medical journals online. Yet, many of the well-designed studies only report the average weight lost for a given program or approach. Intuitively you know that some people will lose more weight than others. Some people enrolled in a study probably were not very motivated to lose weight and may have actually gained.
Average weight loss doesn’t tell you what percentage of people actually lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off. To help a person better answer this question, several researchers re-analyzed study results. Among participants in intense programs where people committed about an hour per week, about half of the individuals lost five percent or more of their starting weight—about a third of those lost more than ten percent. In less intense programs, about a third of people lost five percent or more. If you are reading this right now your chances of success are probably higher that the results of several weight loss studies because you are starting with an interest in succeeding. (The full results of the analysis will be published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2010.)
