There are many statistics in today’s society showing how out of shape and unhealthy Americans are. Although there are attempts to change this (66% of Americans are on diet), the statistics still show that about one out of every three adults in the United States are considered to be obese.
Because obesity (weighing above 20% of what is considered a normal weight for that height) is the second leading cause of preventable death, there are many attempts to understand the root causes behind obesity and what can be done to help people lose weight.
Part of the effort has been to interview individuals themselves who are obese and trying to lose weight to see where they are at mentally in terms of their weight loss and what they are trying to do to keep losing the weight or keep the weight off. Some of these statistics are as follows.
- Approximately 80% of dieters are trying to lose weight on their own.
- In a 2016 Mintel Diet Trends survey, 70% of respondents agreed that a strong support system is essential to achieving diet goals.
- 50% of Americans say they are unsuccessful at losing weight because they don’t have enough self-discipline.
These statistics show that most Americans are trying to lose weight on their own, without the help of a dietician or a personal trainer, while seven out of 10 consider a strong support system to be essential to achieving diet goals. Still, 50% of Americans say that their own self-discipline is the cause of not losing weight.
There are two main components to losing weight in a way that is not surgical or pill related. The first is diet, while the other is exercise. There are many different ways to approach both of those categories. There are many different diets out there to try, with some being extraordinarily healthy, while there are many exercises available.
Recently, the U.S. News and Report came out with a listing of the top 40 diets in America. The first was the DASH diet, while the second was the Mediterranean diet. Those top two diets share some characteristics. First, they are whole foods diets, meaning they cut out processed food. Second, they have a healthy balance of carbs, protein, and fats.
Many diets that were in the bottom ten were too restrictive for most people to stay on them. The Ketogenic diet for instance, is a high fat diet where most of the calories come from fat, while there is a much small portion of protein and almost not carbs. This is a difficult diet for some people to follow.
The DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet value the balance between carbs, protein, and fats. They don’t completely exclude any one of those three. Instead, balance is sought by balancing the portions of different kinds of food. With both, there is a focus on fruit and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and protein from fish or lean meats.
Most dietary guidelines focus on reducing processed food and replacing them with whole foods. This can include fruits, vegetables, lean meats, rice, potatoes, fish, and other food that is not packaged with a bunch of harmful chemicals that affect the body in unnatural fashion.
Another option for those that are looking to lose weight is to focus on calorie restriction, which is shown to have long lasting benefits for people who have heart disease and people with diabetes. Calorie restriction means finding out how many calories your body needs per day, then shooting for either that amount or below.
An option for those that wish to lose weight but have been struggling with their diet or exercise is to look at weight loss surgery option. A weight loss surgery center can provide the beginning of a chance to lose weight. There are some statistics associated with this, bariatric surgery, gastric bypass surgery, or a medical weight loss program.
- Gastric sleeve surgery removes about 80% of the stomach.
- Duodenal switch surgery reduces stomach size by 80%.
A weight loss surgery center might be a significant step for those who have been struggling with exercise and dieting. A weight loss surgery center could be useful to Americans who struggle and cannot get healthier. A weight loss surgery center could help those people who need help.
