Weight loss treatments are not a permanent fix – that doesn’t mean they ‘don’t work’

Struggling: Obesity is perhaps best thought of as a chronic relapsing condition and people with obesity need lifelong access to treatment and support. — 123rf.com

IT is often said that 95% of weight-loss measures don’t work. Only, it’s not true. Advances in behavioural treatments (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) for obesity and weight-loss drugs mean there are lots of approaches that help people lose weight.

In fact, weight loss is the easy part (relatively speaking). The problem is that when you come off a diet or stop taking a weight-loss drug, the weight will invariably creep back up.