Most cases of obesity require treatment, not just a diet: study

More than half the population is now overweight, with one out of four considered obese. (staticnak/shutterstock.com)

A study from members of Obesity Canada has found that there are still many misconceptions about the cause of obesity and what the best solutions are for dealing with the disease.

Dr. Arya Sharma, the lead investigator on the study and Scientific Director at Obesity Canada, explained that the current line of thinking regarding obesity likely won’t lead to long term weight loss results.

“There seems to be this belief out there that the most effective treatment for obesity is simply going on a diet and losing weight when we know that in most cases people are just going to put the weight back on.”

Instead, it's recommended that people struggling with obesity considering seeking out medical treatment.

“The most effective treatment for obesity is when you combine diet and exercise with medication, or in cases of severe obesity even with bariatric surgery.”

One of the misconceptions coming from people living with obesity is that it is something that they can handle it themselves.

“When you ask people living with obesity they look at it more as a lifestyle problem, something that they believe they should be able to fix on their own. Which again flies in the face of all of the research.”

Dr. Sharma added that people trying to lose weight through diet and exercise alone only have a 1-in-10 or even 1-in-20 chance of keeping the weight off. With treatment such as bariatric surgery, those odds go up to about 80 per cent.

According to Dr. Sharma, the reason is simply the biology of the human body.

“When bodies lose weight, they essentially set themselves up for weight regain,” and adds that “obesity is a chronic disease.  When you stop the treatment, the disease comes back.”

The full results of the report were published on Friday marking World Obesity Day. The findings are available at obesitycanada.ca.