Item — HN Reader

> But those who stick with regime, it works 100%

No. Even nearly a decade of intensive behavioral treatment has highly variable results.

Here's what the numbers tend to look like in practice:

  ~26% weighed more than at baseline
  ~23% lost >0% to <5%
  ~23% lost 5% to <10%
  ~16% lost 10% to <15%
  ~11% lost ≥15%

As you can see, results cannot be guaranteed.

> positive changes in life, quality, happiness etc are massive

This is generally true. Eating better and exercising will improve your life.

But will you lose weight? How much weight? Those are far more difficult questions.

1 comments

Then they didn't stick to it, simple as that. Eat less than you burn = lose weight. Unless they broke physics, in which case we should put them in a sterile room and study them

> we should put them in a sterile room and study them

We have.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49319339

> Body adapts significantly over time when subjected to weight loss.

> There are compensatory physiological adaptations that favor weight regain, such as changes in energy expenditure and appetite.

> Even with sustained effort, maintaining the initial weight loss may become progressively more difficult because of those changes.

> This shows up in research as results like mean weight loss of ~9% at year 1 and ~5% at year 8.