Conference rocks::weight_control

    Mike -
    
    Send it to me. I'll type and post (and spell check (:*)  ) the whole thing.
    
    
    Catherine Pogar
    P.O. Box 814132
    Dallas, TX 75381
    
    
    
    Catherine
    

    Yes, it's a great article and I planned to post some of it, when I got
    the time.
    
    The short summary is:
    
    - Diets don't work.  (Well all know this, right?)  The vast majority of
    people gain weight back if they lose any at all.  This is true both of
    self-help diets, and commercial diets.
    
    - The medical necessity of losing weight is questionable, especially
    for people who are only moderately overweight.  Statistics show that
    overweight people are higher risk for heart disease, etc, than
    non-overweight people - but the evidence that *losing* the overweight
    will help is sketchy.  Yo-yo dieting might be an explanation for the
    fact that people who lose weight don't show the improved statistics of
    people who have always been normal weight.
    
    - Except for people who are grossly overweight, exercise has more of an
    effect on health than dieting, whether or not it contributes to weight
    loss.
    
    - People who are "apples" (carry their weight on their stomachs) are in
    a higher risk group than "pears" (who carry their weight on ther hips
    and buttocks) 
    
    - Lots of people are on weight loss plans who have no clear medical
    reason for losing weight.  
    
    - 5 major diet plans were rated: Weight Watchers, Nutri/System, Jenny
    Craig, Physician's Weight Loss Centers, and Diet Workshop.  All had
    similar results with regard to weight lost/weight regained, but
    customer satisfaction was highest for Weight Watchers (and expense was
    lowest.)  There were sidebars indicating: very little succes with diet
    pills (Dexatrim, etc)...very little success with diet drinks (Slimfast,
    etc)  Liquid fast diets (Optifast, etc) are for people who are very
    obese, and result in a large weight loss but are no better than regular
    diets at keeping the weight off.
    
    - BMI (body mass index) was discussed.  THe formula is:
    (your weight in pounds * 700) / (your height in inches * 2)
    ideal: BMI < 25, moderate risk: BMI <30, high risk BMI > 30.
    
    D!

>    - BMI (body mass index) was discussed.  THe formula is:
>    (your weight in pounds * 700) / (your height in inches * 2)
>    ideal: BMI < 25, moderate risk: BMI <30, high risk BMI > 30.

Is this really correct? I weigh 127lbs, am 67ins tall so based on this 
formula my BMI is 663 - sounds like ***very*** high risk!

Mary

    Sorry, my mistake, the denominator is squared.
    
    (your weight in lb * 700) / (your hieght in inches ** 2) or alternately
    (your weight in lb * 700) / (your hieght in inches * your height in
    			        inchese)
    
    
    127 * 700	88900
    --------- = ----- = 19.8
    67 * 67     4489
    
    D!

    Thanks D! - that sounds much better.
    
    Mary
    

Ok, but what does your Body Mass Index indicate?
(Maybe I need to read the article...)

Thanks,
Evelyn

    Just what I indicated in my summary.  It's just a ratio, which is
    supposed to be related to your risk for weight-related medical
    difficulties, such as heart problems, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc.
    
    ideal = BMI < 25
    moderate = 25 < BMI < 30
    high risk = BMI > 30
    
    It's not a measure of anything, it's a statistical artifact you can use
    to estimate where you fall in the risk category.
    
    It's only moderately useful, because it does not take in to account how
    much of the weight is fat vs muscle, nor does it take in to account
    how you carry that weight (apple vs pear).
    
    D!

    I have a BMI of 23 or so (not sure exactly how tall I am), which is
    well within the range of healthy.   I also have a body fat % of 16% (by
    the caliper test) which is also well within the desired range.
    
    Yet - my body is not anywhere near "ideal" by current cultural
    standards.  On my good days, I think I look great - healthy; on my bad
    days, I want to lose 10-15 more pounds, which would probably be very
    unhealthy.  
    
    I think that was part of the point of the article.  On the front page,
    they show a woman looking in the mirror - she has a healthy
    body-weight, but her body is not model-perfect.  Her "image" looking
    back at her is that of a very slim model.  Lots of people who look like
    me, or like the woman in the picture (who I thought was perfectly
    attractive) go on diets, and either struggle to lose the weight and
    never succeed, or lose it and then gain it right back, because it is
    below the "natural" weight for our bodies as determined by genetics.
    
    (They made a big point that genetics is the biggest contributor to our
    weight.)
    
    D!

Thanks for the explanation of wht BMI is.  Mine also falls well within 
the healthy range, but I have to lose at least 6% body fat to get
to the high end of the healthy range for a woman.

Thanks again,
Evelyn

    The article doesn't really explain the Body Mass Index (BMI).  All
    it says is that it can be used to determine a person's likely range
    of risk.  (They also have you calculate your waist-to-hip ratio, by
    the way)

    The BMI is an indirect measure of bodyfat.  The heavier you are,
    and the shorter you are, the higher your BMI.  That's the way it
    SHOULD work, but ... 

    They offer a photo example on the following page of two men, both
    about 6', 230lbs.  One of the men is 30-40lbs overweight while the
    other is in great shape, with a good amount of muscle.

    The two men have similar BMIs.

    can i ask about the apple vs pear shape?  i read a while back in
    "Prevention" magazine about the suggested health risks of the two
    shapes, but i wonder where that would leave some like me who has had a
    variety of shapes of the years ;)
    
    when I was at my highest weight I was very round and when i lost and
    leveled off i was kinda hour glass and evenly distributed, when i went
    to my very lowest (96) i was a stick-man
    
    now i'm trying to lose 20 or so lbs, i would say i'm more pear shaped
    but again with exercise and diet that big bottom is beginning to slim
    down.
    
    so am i an at risk person or just an okay type person??  8-} 
    
    Pauline

      I think you are an okay person whatever your shape, Pauline.  :-)
      
      Anyway, my take on the article was that for people who were once
      overweight, the risks remain mostly the same, even if you lose
      weight, unless you were *extremely* overweight.  So maybe that fact
      overshadows the actual distribution of your weight...or maybe not. 
      The article didn't go in to that kind of detail, and I would imagine
      that there is no scientific data on the risks of someone who has
      "changed shape".  Also, I'm pretty sure that the risks of yo-yo
      dieting and weight gain and loss and gain would overshadow the risks
      of a particular shape.
      
      Anyway, to determine what shape you are, you take a ratio of your
      waist to your hips...even if you are heavy all over, you can still be
      a pear, based on where you gain more of your weight.
      
      D!
      

    Thanks D! and thanks ;-)
    
    Since joining a weight loss program, I tend to read just about
    everthing I can get my hands on.  Most times, I know me and use common
    sense and then there's always that one article that seems to fit my
    description (pear shape ;) ) and gets me to wondering.
    
    I never imagined there were so many ways to meaure one's body fat, I
    always thought the scale the ultimate in determining everything. 
    
    Ah well, I learn as I grow (smaller 8-)) )
    
    me...

    Here's the brief summary of the plans evaluated :
    
                                   Satisfaction             Weightloss
    Diet programs           w/program  w/loss  w/maint    End  after 6 mos.
     Weight Watchers           75%       74%     54%       8%     5%
     Jenny Craig               62%       65%     35%      11%     6%
     Physician's Weight Loss   56%       65%     37%      12%     7%
     Diet Center               52%       68%     38%      10%     6%
     Nutri/System              48%       63%     34%      11%     7%
    Liquid-fast programs
     Health Mgmt Resources     66%       82%     43%      20%    15%
     Optifast                  44%       73%     24%      20%    12%
     Medifast                  40%       65%     23%      15%     8%
    
    The article also mentions that Weight Watchers' customers experienced
    less sales pressure, had fewer problems with the diet, felt less hun-
    gry, and were less often surprised by unexpectedly high costs.

    re .-1
    
    Interesting statistics.  In the "Weightloss" column, do the percentages
    refer to percent of people who lost weight (any weight at all) or the
    average percent of their original weight that the people lost?
    
    -ellie

    % of body weight lost.
    
    D!

    While I was on vacation the last couple of days, the article appeared
    in my mailbox (thanks, Mike!). I have started typing it and will post
    it in the next few days. 
    
    Catherine