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> In the context of weight management, the concept of "weight loss" should never be considered. This is because two people with same weight may have wildly diff
by baseballdork 2y ago
> In the context of weight management, the concept of "weight loss" should never be considered. This is because two people with same weight may have wildly different body compositions; this also applied to the same people but in different conditions.
Weight loss should _never_ be considered? How does that follow? Lots of people definitely need to lose weight.
- projektfu 2y agoI took it to mean that the goal is a reduction in adiposity. For most cases, weight loss will mean that, but it is also possible to become sarcopenic or chronically dehydrated, be lighter, and be in worse health. Most studies look at more than just weight, they minimally assess BMI and ideally estimate body fat percentage. Some go further, looking at relative risk of other endpoints such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, injury, hospitalization, death, etc.
- pizza234 2y agoTake a person that with X% body fat and Y% muscles. They start going to the gym; after some time, they'll have (random numbers) (X-2)% body fat, and (Y+2)% muscles. On a scale, their weight will be the same, but in reality, their body composition (and looks) will be considerably different. This is a very important concept. Beside the obvious case where somebody just looks at the scale, and they don't realize their progress, body composition as opposed to weight is extremely important when doing diets, because an improper diet may lead to excessive muscle loss, which is accidentally perceived as a success (on the scale) rather than a failure (because the body composition hasn't changed as intended).