The Benefits and Adverse Effects of Weight Loss

Lee, Young Ho; Heo, Si Young

Abstract

Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes and is associated with several other medical and psychological disorders. Weight loss is known to reduce these risks and to improve or resolve these cormorbid disorders and it is generally assumed that weight loss will improve the health of large people. But there is little research to support this. And no randomized controlled trials have been published to demonstrate that intentional weight loss in the obese actually reduces morbidity or increases longevity. In fact, the large majority of published epidemiological studies show that persons who experience a net loss of weight over time have shorter life spans than those whose body weights remain relatively stable. In addition, many persons who have intentionally lost weight report that they ultimately gain back some or all of the weight they originally lost. For some persons, this pattern of weight loss followed by regain will be repeated over many years of dieting and be exposed to the risk for eating disorders. These findings suggest that our current attitude or assume about weight loss should be challenged or reevaluated. With a culturally determined esthetical ideal and well-documented salutary effects of intentional weight loss on physiological risk factors, dichotomous thinking pattern about weight loss that weight loss is good one but weight gain even weight maintenance above normal is bad one has been prevailing. Therefore, intentional weight loss has been prevalent and intentional weight loss and it's related physical and psychosocial problems may become one of the most common health related issue in Korea. However, the efforts for weight control have been mainly focused on the weight loss rather than weight maintenance without serious consideration about long-term consequences of weight loss. To provide more balanced informations for weight loss and weight control, the authors reviewed the literatures concerning physical and psychosocial effects of weight loss, and effects of weight loss on morbidity and mortality. And we also reviewed the literatures about possible problems that may be resulted by various methods of weight control and discussed what is more appropriate approaches to the weight control.