At a Loss

And yet, most people still struggle with their weight — whether it’s a few pounds gained over Yom Tov or a few dress sizes during pregnancy. For some, “the battle of the bulge” is a lifelong struggle with agonizing setbacks: A staggering 90% to 95% of people with obesity who diet and lose weight will gain the pounds back, often with interest.

Since 1975, obesity rates have tripled, with World Health Organization statistics indicating almost one in three people with a BMI over 30 and one out of 25 with a BMI of 40 or over (mortal obesity).

Even more alarming is that obesity is increasing among children. Type 2 diabetes, a direct outcome of obesity and once considered a strictly adult disease, has, since 1990, begun to present in children from age 3. In the US alone, over 5,000 new cases of children with type 2 diabetes are diagnosed annually.

What makes these statistics so grim is the fact that obesity has been linked to serious medical conditions — diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, infertility, as well as sleep apnea and skeletal pain (bad back, aching knees) — so inextricably that obesity is considered a disease unto itself.