Steve Quayle News Alerts

July 7, 2002

Fat Chance

The United States is gaining weight. Six out of 10 Americans are overweight or obese, and obesity among American adults has nearly doubled since 1980.

In "Fat Chance," CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen examines the issue and finds that losing weight isn't the problem for many people. The problem lies in not regaining the lost weight. Cohen talks to two people who were successful in losing weight and keeping it off, and reports on research that suggests genetics may play a role in predisposing people to be overweight.

Keeping weight off is hard to do

Successful weight loss -- losing weight and keeping it off -- is so unusual that Jim Hill at the University of Colorado keeps a list of people who've managed to do it. Karen Brown and Robert Romaniello are two of the people on the National Weight Control Registry.

Brown went from 194 pounds to 124 pounds while Romaniello lost 60 pounds. Both managed to do it while fighting against our body's natural physical instincts to eat when food is available and in a society that seemingly discourages exercise.

Expect failure but keep trying

According to Hill, only 5 percent of dieters actually keep the weight off like Brown and Romaniello. After studying the roughly 3,000 people in the National Weight Control Registry, he and his colleagues have come up with seven keys to losing weight and keeping it off. The first tip: expect failure but keep trying.

Both Brown and Romaniello say they used food as an emotional crutch, eating when they felt lonely and unhappy. And both of them cite health considerations as the factor that finally motivated them to change their habits and keep the weight off.

Exercise is good

Two more things Romaniello and Brown have in common is that both have a regular exercise regimen. Romaniello runs and does push-ups and sit-ups. Brown runs daily, lifts weights and leads 10 aerobics classes a week.

It took time for both Romaniello and Brown to get to the where they could exercise as much as they do. But if you can't exercise as much as Romaniello and Brown, Hill suggests incorporating physical activity into daily routines, like taking the stairs instead of the escalator.

Five meals a day

Of the many diets that claim to have the answer to losing weight, a federal government study found that a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet is the best at keeping the weight off. Data from the weight control registry also shows that successful dieters often eat five meals a day.

Hill says the data isn't completely clear on this point. "I think it's more likely that by spreading them out over the day what you're avoiding doing is overeating in any given situation," he said. Other researchers are studying whether genetics may predispose some people to being overweight and where there are drugs that can be created to help them.

Overweight children

Karen Brown felt wonderful when she successfully lost weight. But now she's fighting the battle again, this time for her son, who has been teased by other children for being overweight.

Brown's son is not alone. Among children, the rate of obesity has doubled in the last 20 years, which has health consequences. Type 2 diabetes -- brought on by obesity and once found only in adults -- is becoming more and more common in children. Infants tend to self-regulate their food intake but once children hit school-age, they stop listening to their stomachs.

Fit but fat

Brown and Romaniello have overcome genetics and changed their lifestyles to successfully lose weight. But they are the exception because dieting failures are much more common, like Lynn McAfee, who went on her first diet while still a baby.

McAfee is a part of the "fit but fat" movement, which encourages physical exercise and healthy eating, but doesn't encourage dieting because it's unlikely to work. McAfee says there is study after study showing that dieting doesn't work. "You can't yell at us louder. That's not working."