The 5-10% Weight Loss Lie - Part 2

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In part one of this two-part series we discussed the frequent claim that losing “just 5-10% of your body weight” can have health benefits, and found that was not supported by the evidence. Today we’ll look at how this fallacy plays out in the world, and how the evidence not only doesn’t support it, but in fact refutes it.

First let’s get a sense of what this looks like in real life. As you read through these scenarios, please keep in mind that “health” and “fitness” are amorphous, multi-factorial concepts, and are not obligations, barometers of worthiness, or entirely within our control.

Scenario 1: Health Improvements

Let’s say that someone adds some behaviors that are known to possibly support health. They experience some health improvements, and they lose weight.

The story we are told is that weight loss leads to greater health… but back it up a minute.

Those who draw this conclusion rule out behavior changes as the reason for health improvements despite that fact that is seems much more likely that the health improvements and the (at least temporary) body size change are both results of the behavior change. Especially since the weight loss is small and often happens simultaneously with the health changes. Not to mention there is good research that shows that behavior changes often lead to health improvements regardless of change in body size. On the flip side, weight loss without behavior change (for example liposuction) does not typically show health improvements. For example Klein et al found that liposuction that removed a significant amount of fat still did not result in health benefits.

Scenario 2: Fitness and Mobility Improvements

Someone starts a program to increase strength, stamina, flexibility, and/or mobility. They increase strength, stamina, flexibility, and/or mobility, and their body weight goes down a bit (at least temporarily)

The story we are told is that weight loss is responsible for these results. But thin people begin programs like this all the time, and everyone is clear that it’s the program that causes their fitness and mobility improvements. But when the person utilizing the program is fat, we’re told that it’s the small change in body weight, Despite the fact that there are people of vastly different weights with the same fitness and ability, and people of vastly different fitness and ability who are the same weight? Not to mention that there are definitely limitations on what our individual bodies can do for many reasons, and so the idea that we are completely in control of these things/ obligated to control them quickly becomes ableist and healthist.

Scenario 3: Confidence

Someone’s body weight changes (at least temporarily) and they become more confident.

The story we get told is that weight loss increases confidence with no examination of the fact that a society rife with sizeism is what stole the person’s confidence in the first place.  And that, even living in a society that gives us near constant negative messages about our bodies, there are still plenty of confident fat* people.

On the surface there is a frustrating lack of logic here, but this problem goes far deeper than that.  The truth is that all of the incidents of weight loss that I described above are likely to be temporary.  The truth about weight loss is that most people can lose some weight for a short amount of time, but almost everyone gains it back and many gain back more than they lost. The constant lie that fat people are told is that our fat is to blame for anything and everything we’re not happy about in our lives, and that the “solution” to all of that is weight loss.

These lies convince fat people to put our goals and lives on hold and put all of our eggs in the weight loss basket, despite a mountain of evidence that tell us it will never happen. It means that when fat people give up on weight loss (wisely, since it almost never works) many of us also give up on all the goals that these lies told us we had to lose weight to achieve.

What the research actually shows is that behaviors are a much better predictor of future health than is weight loss, with far less downside risk - again, understanding that health and fitness are not an obligation, barometer of worthiness, or entirely within our control.

To learn more about that, check out research like Gaesser and Angadi. Matheson et. al, Wei et. al. You can find links to these and more at https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/

It’s not surprising that the weight loss industry (and the culture it created) would insist on giving weight loss credit it doesn’t deserve, but we don’t have to make the same mistake If we follow the evidence we know that our best chance to support our mental and physical heath is to leave diet culture behind and focus on things that support our personal goals and health. We also have to realize that it’s not just about personal choices, but rather that healthcare and public health must focus on solving systemic issues including reducing barriers and increasing access to ethical, evidence-based healthcare.

If you want to take a look at the true ridiculousness of this using real numbers, you can find that here!

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More Research

For a full bank of research, check out https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/

*Note on language: I use “fat” as a neutral descriptor as used by the fat activist community, I use “ob*se” and “overw*ight” to acknowledge that these are terms that were created to medicalize and pathologize fat bodies, with roots in racism and specifically anti-Blackness. Please read Sabrina Strings: Fearing the Black Body – the Racial Origins of Fat Phobia and Da’Shaun Harrisons Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness for more on this.