Conference rocks::weight_control

.0>    	98% of W/W members who reach goal, become lifetime
.0>    	members, and continue to weight-in each month will keep
.0>    	the weight off.
    
    As with any method of self-improvement, people who fail simply stop
    going to the meetings.
    
    Naturally the lifetime members are successful, that's why the're
    lifetime members!  It's a nice, self-fulfilling statistic.
    
    I truly believe WW is one of the best ways to lose weight.
    
    Their advice is sound, their goals are realistic, they teach you how
    to eat in the real world (restaurants, at home, fast food, etc), they
    are established, they consistently receive accolades from the health
    community, and they are reasonably priced.

    The statistic I recently heard on a news segment on weightloss
    programs was that 5% of the people that lose weight will keep
    it off for 5 years.  It's a pretty discouraging statistic!
    (This one sounds a bit more optimistic than the WW quote
    of 1/200 for 2 years in the base note...WW should quote you
    these numbers *before* you sign up, eh? :-)
    
    --Sharon
    

    How much of the original weight do they gain back?
    
    That number is awfully easy to skew either way, since there's no
    mention of how they lost the weight, or even if they were trying
    to lose weight.

    Statistics are one of my favorite games!
    
    Sharon, the 1/200 number does not conflict with the 5% number you
    heard.  The 1/200 comes from the fact that (according to WW) only 1 in
    10 people who try to lose weight actually succeed in losing any.  The
    5% number is of those who actually *do* lose weight, 95% of them gain
    it back.  I can't tell you how many diets I started and quit before I
    lost a measureable (over 5 lb) amount of weight.
    
    Mike is right that the wonderful-sounding 98% the WW gives is
    deceiving, because that is 98% of those who keep going.  The people who
    gain weight back don't generally keep going. (I refuse to comment on
    the cause and effect of that, though.)
    
    The statistics I have heard have been more specific, but I don't
    remember the details.  Something like: of people who lose more than 10
    pounds, 95% gain the full 10 pounds back within two years, usually
    more.
    
    I'd just like to say that I don't consider a "diet" succesful unless
    you both lose weight and keep it off.  I would never recommend a diet
    to someone unless I had personally or known others who had kept it off
    after a period of time.
    
    D!

    While these statistics are generally discouraging (I've been hearing
    those groans over the past few days :-), the 98% statistic from
    WW is actually encouraging to me.  It tells me that if I keep at
    my life-time weigh-ins, even if I've gone up a few pounds, that I'll
    be able stay at or near goal, as opposed to creeping up over time
    because "it's just another pound" month after month.
    
    --Sharon
    

    Just to balance all the "devil's advocates" with my usual goofy
    optimism, don't forget the pressure on everyone to want to be thin and
    to say they are dieting, whether or not they are really adopting
    healthier habits.  So they are eating like crazy, not exercising and
    maybe purchasing diet pills or telling a pollster that "yeah, I am
    trying to lose weight, I want to be thin".  These people are counted in
    the failure rate.
    
    Beware of these depressing stats.  Remember that Yale study a few years
    ago which sent all of us over-30 single women into depression because
    it said that statistically, we had a better change of being hit by
    lightening than getting married?  Months later there was an item,
    buried in the back of the paper, which said that lesbians and other
    women who were single BY CHOICE were counted in the survey, and that of
    those who WANTED to marry, the chance of finding a mate was not 3% but
    was closer to 75%.
    
    So, let's take this whole thing with a grain of salt.  No, scratch
    that, salt retains water.  
    
    And remember the wise words of my father, "figures don't lie, but lyers
    figure."
    
    Sylvia

    I hate this statistics game that are used to generalize everything in
    the USA ( I am a statistics grad :-)). So what if 5% of the population
    keeps their weight off. It should not affect me in any way. My losing
    weight or keeping it off or gaining is totally my responsibility. I
    only contribute to the statistics rather than have the statistics
    contribute to my weight loss effort.
    
    Also, about "ideal weights" - I do not believe that there is any
    correct weight that can be generally used by all - simply, the "ideal
    weight" chart keeps changing every x years - last year I should have
    been between 137 and 145 lbs for my height (5' 8") but this year I can
    go as high as 167lbs ??? 
    
    I have learned that the ideal weight for me is 153lbs - I feel good,
    energetic. That is what counts - not what some table of weights or
    statistics tell you.
    
    Sorry to be so bitter but too much emphasis on statistics affects
    people's minds adversely.
    
    I gained a lot with my 2nd pregnancy (baby is 2.5 months old now) and
    have to loose close to 55lbs. I will use the WW plan (as with my first
    pregnancy) and walk until I get to a weight that is comfortable for me
    to start running (my back hurts if I run when I am too heavy) and then
    start running increasing slowly to 5 miles which was my all time high.
    
    Shaila