Everyone knows the depressing statistic that 95% of those who lose weight will end up replacing it, usually within a year or two – or even less.
This has become so much part of the generally accepted truth about the difficulty of maintaining weight loss, that no one thinks to ask where it came from. Nevertheless, many of those who have tried and failed to lose weight and maintain it, give up because they see the statistical chances of success as being on a par with winning the lottery.
But how do we know that 95% of people regain weight? In fact, obesity researchers have no idea how many people lose weight and keep it off. It is likely that the rather bleak 95% statistic was derived from hospital studies carried out in the 1950s but which have little relevance today, especially as more people opt for obesity surgery.
Recent evidence from the US National Weight Control Registry suggests that the picture may be far more optimistic than is commonly believed. It seems that researchers have found it remarkably easy to collect hundreds of inspirational stories from successful dieters.
