Experts point out that small improvements yield big health benefits
Unrealistic and, conceivably, unreasonable expectations may be dooming the aspirations of many individuals who are attempting to lose weight. All too often, they obsess about losing those proverbial 'last 10 pounds,' when, the experts suggest, what they should be focusing on is the first 10 pounds—even if that's all they ever lose. The reasons: people, they say, are more likely to be successful at maintaining a modest weight loss than a large one, and discarding even a few pounds can produce significant improvements in health.
According to The New York Times, recent research suggests that overweight men and women who shed as little as 10% of their body weight reap 'disproportionate' benefits. One study found that subjects who lost just 7% of their body weight reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 58%; another, conducted in Finland, reported similar results with a 5% reduction.
'People drive themselves insane trying to be perfect, and, to get to better health, you don't have to be perfect,' Dr. Louis J. Aronne told the Times. He pointed out that people stand a much better chance of achieving and sustaining a relatively small weight loss, and that reaching that goal may motivate them to continue setting, and striving towards, others.
'At the moment, what we're saying is try to lose 10%, try to keep it off for a year. If you keep it off for a year, then try to lose some more,' explained Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, the director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. 'But don't try to lose all your weight. It's just hard, very hard, for people to do that, and then they fail and get depressed.'
