Some might think that losing weight can be achieved by going on a diet, but the process is more complex than that. Around half of Americans are trying to find ways to lose their extra weight, but it hasn’t been an easy feat to accomplish during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, 42% of adults in the U.S. have gained an average of 29 pounds with 10% of them gaining more than 50 pounds.
Few doctors in the U.S. are actually properly trained to help with weight loss or address overweight patients without prejudice. Studies from Johns Hopkins further show that overweight patients are more likely to continuously switch doctors while also having an 85% greater chance of landing in the emergency room. At least 55% of overweight patients have skipped an appointment due to their anxiety around the chance of being weighed. Safe and helpful medications for weight loss are actually an option for some patients, such as naltrexone and bupropion, but only around 3% of qualified patients are given prescriptions.
Weight problems have shown to have negative effects on people’s health. Data shows that obesity raises the death rate to three times that of the rest of the population while at least 80% of people who are overweight also have mental illness. Several of those who have depression have experienced either feeling hungrier than usual or a decreased desire to eat. Weight issues with depression could also lead to pains, lower energy, digestive problems, and difficulty sleeping. Weight gain from food addiction could be harder to remedy considering that people with food addiction eat to help them with issues such as anxiety, fear, or depression and reflect behaviors similar to those associated with substance or alcohol abuse.
Losing weight is a hard process for many, but keeping the weight off could be even harder. In three years, about 97% of people who lost weight gained back the weight (and sometimes even more) while suffering from depression. It is also important to acknowledge that losing weight doesn’t easily translate to better mental wellbeing.
Weight loss can be riddled with hardships, but it doesn’t have to if you know how to find the right weight loss plan that works for you.
