There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. - Benjamin Disraeli

Sources for Statistics

$59 Billion Spent to Lose Weight?

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I'll be very candid with you: That figure shocked me. During my research phase, the figure I continually read was $30 billion (still a significant sum). However, the photo to the left, came from a CBS Sunday Morning news special about obesity in America. So, if CBS has been doing proper research, it's a whopping $59 billion.
  • Genetics of Body Weight
  • 95% of all dieters regain their lost weight within one to five years. Grodstein F., Levine R., Troy L., Spencer T., Colditz G.A., Stampfer M.J. Three-year follow-up of participants in a commercial weight loss program. Can you keep it off? Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:1302-1306.
  • Several long-term follow-up studies have shown that the success rate of diets, over time, is dismal at best. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 95% of diets simply do not work over the long term.Bennett, W.G. and Gurin, J. (1982). The Dieter's Dilemma: Eating Less and Weighing More. Basic Books, New York.
  • Studies show that 90%-95% of individuals who diet are unsuccessful in the long term.For example: Bennett, William Ira. (1995) Beyond Overeating. The New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 332 (10) 673-674; Weinsier, R.L., et al. (2000) Do adaptive changes in metabolic rate favour weight gain in weight-reduced individuals? An examination of the set-point theory. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 72. 1088-1094.