Weight loss
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2008-07-14T06:35:11Z
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/* Therapeutic weight loss techniques */
{{Cleanup|date=May 2008}}
[[Image:Weightloss pyramid.JPG|thumb|150px|A [[Food guide pyramid|weightloss pyramid]] made on the model by BCM]]
'''Weight loss''', in the context of [[medicine]] or [[health]] or [[physical fitness]], is a reduction of the total [[body weight]], due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or [[adipose tissue]] and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue.
==Unintentional weight loss==
A significant loss of total body weight is a serious, [[chronic]] illness. Substantial, unintentional weight loss is a [[symptom]] of acute or chronic illness, especially if other evidence is present.
Weight loss, for example, accompanied by early satiety, bilious vomiting of partially undigested food, postprandial epigastric pain and eructation may indicate [[Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome]]<ref>http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410569</ref>. Weight loss accompanied by insatiable thirst and hunger and fatigue may indicate [[diabetes mellitus]], a chronic disease characterized by an abnormal accumulation of [[carbohydrates]] in the bloodstream due to insufficient production of [[insulin]], a hormone produced in the pancreas that, when secreted into the bloodstream, permits cellular metabolism and utilization of [[glucose]].
Poor management of type 1 diabetes mellitus, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), leads to an excessive amount of glucose and an insufficient amount of insulin in the bloodstream. This triggers the release of [[triglycerides]] from adipose (fat) tissue and [[catabolism]] (breakdown) of [[amino acids]] in muscle tissue. This results in a loss of both fat and lean mass, leading to a significant reduction in total body weight. Note that untreated type 1 diabetes mellitus will usually not produce weight loss, as these patients get acutely ill before they would have had time to lose weight.
Myriad of additional scientific considerations are applicable to weight loss, including but not limited to: physiological and exercise sciences, [[nutrition]] science, [[behavioral sciences]], and other sciences.
One area involves the science of [[bioenergetics]] including biochemical and [[physiological]] energy production and utilization systems, that is frequently evidence of diabetes, and [[ketone bodies]], acetone particles occurring in body fluids and tissues involved in [[acidosis]], also known as [[ketosis]], somewhat common in severe diabetes.
In addition to weight loss due to a reduction in fat and lean mass, illnesses such as diabetes, certain medications, lack of fluid intake and other factors can trigger fluid loss. And fluid loss in addition to a reduction in fat and lean mass exacerbates the risk for [[cachexia]].
Infections such as [[HIV]] may alter metabolism, leading to weight loss.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mangili A, Murman DH, Zampini AM, Wanke CA |title=Nutrition and HIV infection: review of weight loss and wasting in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy from the nutrition for healthy living cohort |journal=Clin. Infect. Dis. |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=836–42 |year=2006 |pmid=16477562 |doi=10.1086/500398}}</ref>
Hormonal disruptions, such as an overactive thyroid ([[hyperthyroidism]]) , may also exhibit as weight loss.<ref>[http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/Thyroid_and_Weight.pdf Overactive thyroid and weight loss]</ref>
==Intentional weight loss==
Weight loss may refer to the loss of total body mass in an effort to improve fitness, health, and/or appearance.
Therapeutic weight loss, in individuals who are overweight, can decrease the likelihood of developing diseases such as [[diabetes]].<ref>[http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=261&issueID=30 Diabetes Study Shows Value In Diet, Exercise, september 2001]</ref> , [[heart disease]], high blood pressure, [[stroke]], [[osteoarthritis]]<ref>[http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/Health_Effects.shtml Prevalence of various medical conditions increases with overweight and obesity ]</ref> and certain types of [[cancer]]. For healthy weight loss, a physician should be consulted to develop a weight loss plan that is tailored to the individual.
Weight loss occurs when an individual is in a state of negative energy balance. When the human body is spending more [[energy]] in [[Mechanical work|work]] and [[heat]] than it is gaining from food or other nutritional supplements, it will use stored reserves of fat or muscle.
Although weight loss may involve loss of fat, muscle or fluid, weight loss for the purposes of maintaining health should aim to lose fat while conserving muscle and fluid.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
It is not uncommon for people who are already at a medically healthy weight to intentionally lose weight. In some cases it is with the goal of improving athletic performance or to meet weight classifications in a sport. In other cases, the goal is to attain a more attractively shaped body. Being [[underweight]] is associated with health risks such as difficulty fighting off infection, osteoporosis, decreased muscle strength, trouble regulating body temperature and even increased risk of death.<ref>[http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2005-mchi/2796.html Mayo Clinic: Being Underweight Poses Health Risks. Retrieved January 13,2007]</ref>
{{Original research|date=July 2008}}
==Therapeutic weight loss techniques==
{{main|Bariatrics}}
The least intrusive weight loss methods, and those most often recommended by physicians, are adjustments to eating patterns and increased physical [[exercise]].
Usually, health professionals will recommend that their overweight patients combine a reduction of the [[Calorie|caloric]] content of the diet with an increase in physical activity.<ref>[http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm Choosing a Safe and Successful Weight Loss Program]</ref> A good approach to do this might be to choose calorie-poor food and exercising at night (to avoid eating while watching TV, ...) <ref>[http://zenhabits.net/2007/07/80-awesome-weight-loss-tips/ Exercise at night better to avoid eating in front of TV]</ref> If however, you exercise a lot during the course of the day (or all day for that matter), it may be better to not try to reduce your calories in your food during the day at all (you will usually burn all of it anyway during the day), and just eat when hungry, and, in addition, only try to reduce your calories at night. This method may be better for those people exercising all day to avoid to lose energy too quickly, which often translates in eating a lot more at certain moments, usually to this degree/speed of eating that you can no longer assess you've had enough. A good indicator to tell you that you didn't eat too much is again the hunger feeling; exercise until you feel tired and/or hungry and then go to bed ''only slightly'' hungry. However, even if you do not watch your calorie-density of your food (by the method explained just above), it is always best that you eat slowly, or eat a bit and then wait a little. Often, your hunger disappears if you leave a little time as the stomach needs time to digest and tell your body you've had enough. <ref>[http://zenhabits.net/2007/07/80-awesome-weight-loss-tips/ Leaving some time after eating a little often causes hunger to disappear]</ref> Also, another good complementary technique is not too make your food tasty at all and leaving it basic (to avoid "eating out of taste" instead of hunger); for this, one may eg decide to no longer put anything between his [[Butterbrot]] or sandwich, ...). In addition, a much proposed method to hold oneself to a decreased calorie-diet is to increase the amount of liquid you drink. When water or low-calorie drinks are not a working alternative/option, vegetables may be used instead. However, whenever possible (not hungry), (overweight) people are advocated of not eating/drinking at all, to allow the body/stomach to [[shrink]], so that the person will automatically reduce the amount he eats (as the [[hunger]] feeling disappears), hereby normally (although not always) also decreasing the amounts of calories he consumes. Yet another method maybe the increasing of [[ambient temperature]]. Increasing the ambient temperature makes it much easier for certain people to endure the hunger feeling (as its intensity weakens with higher temperature <ref>[http://www.abcvitaminslife.com/HealthFacts/Article437.aspx Hunger and appetite]</ref> Increasing the temperature may be done by either heating up the house (trough radiators, convectors, ...) -or- by putting on more clothes (eg several layers thereof and making sure the ends of the clothes overlap). Note that after a while, when you get used to the extra heat, your appetite may go up again; when this happens extra layers are added to again increase the heat. This latter method is recommended as it allows continuous high temperature (even if you go outside), is cheaper and also puts up less stress for the environment. Also, the implementation of a new hobby (eg listening [[World music|music]], ...) <ref>[http://www.buzzle.com/articles/natural-health-way-lose-weight.html Implementation of new hobby to decrease weight]</ref> <ref>[http://blog.beliefnet.com/ourladyofweightloss/2008/02/the-miracle-of-music-from-weig.html Music for weight loss]</ref> Most of these methods have been proposed by nutritionists as BCM and other organisations involved in weight loss<ref>[http://www.bcminfo.be/precon2/ BCM proposing drinking more water to lose weight]</ref><ref>[http://www.inch-aweigh.com/water.html Other organisations proposing to drink more water to lose weight]</ref> Also, nutritionists as BCM advocate reducing the amounts you eat entirely (to only 3 [[Meal#Daily_meals|meals a day]]).
Other methods of losing weight include use of [[Medication|drugs]] and [[Dietary supplement|supplements]] that decrease [[appetite]], block [[fat]] absorption, or reduce stomach volume. Especially medicine with herbs as [[Fucus vesiculosus]] are popular <ref>[http://www.naturalstandard.com/index-abstract.asp?create-abstract=/monographs/herbssupplements/bladderwrack.asp Fucus vesicolosus popular in weight loss]</ref>. Also, there are also some mental tricks (eg brushing your teeth early to avoid snacking at night, avoiding to buy high-calorie foods at the supermarket, ...) that -although they may be low-tech-, have return big results <ref>[http://zenhabits.net/2007/07/80-awesome-weight-loss-tips/ Mental tricks as brushing teeth to lose weight]</ref>. Finally, a more radical (and usually less recommended, unless really necessairy) method is [[Surgery]]. Bariatric surgery artificially reduces the size of the stomach, limiting the intake of [[food energy]]. Some of these treatments may have serious [[Adverse effect (medicine)|side-effects]].
== "Crash Dieting" ==
A [[crash diet]] is where a person willfully restricts themselves of all nourishment (except water) for more than 12 hours. The desired result is to have the body burn fat for energy with the goal of losing a significant amount of weight in a short time. Crash dieting is not the same as flexible intermittent fasting, where dieters fast for 2 days each week and calories are cycled. Generally the weight lost in a crash diet returns when normal eating resumes.
==Weight loss industry==
In the developed world, there is a substantial market for products which promise to make weight loss easier, quicker, cheaper, more reliable, or less painful. These include books, CDs, cremes, lotions, pills, rings and earrings, body wraps, body belts and other materials, not to mention fitness centers, personal coaches, weight loss groups, and food products and supplements. US residents in 1992 spent an estimated $30 billion a year on all types of diet programs and products, including diet foods and drinks.<ref>[http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wgtloss.html US Food and Drug Administration: The Facts About Weight Loss Products and Programs]</ref>
Between $33 billion and $55 billion is spent annually on weight loss products and services, including medical procedures and pharmaceuticals, with weight loss centers garnering between 6 percent and 12 percent of total annual expenditure. About 70 percent of American's dieting attempts are of a self-help nature. Although often short-lived, these diet fads are a positive trend for this sector as Americans ultimately turn to professionals to help them meet their weight loss goals <ref>http://www.cnbc.com/id/24236487/ Profiting From America's Portly Population </ref>.
==See also==
* [[Dieting]]
* [[Exercise]]
==References==
<references/>
==External links ==
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* [http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/index.htm Weight-control Information Network]
* [http://www.fda.gov/opacom/lowlit/weightls.html U.S. FDA - Losing Weight Safely]
* {{dmoz|Health/Weight_loss|Weight loss }}
* [http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/reports/weightloss.pdf WEIGHT-LOSS ADVERTISING: An Analysis of Current Trends]. Federal Trade Commission (September 2002)]
[[Category:Symptoms]]
[[Category:Digestive disease symptoms]]
[[Category:Obesity]]
[[Category:Dietetics]]
[[Category:Nutrition]]
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