Research
Adherence
Obesity is a stigmatized condition where the desire for cosmetic weight loss often exceeds the desire for health benefits, leading to a mismatch between patient expectations and clinical outcomes, which negatively affects treatment adherence and drug regulation.
Understand that your desire to look different is normal, but clinical weight loss is slow and modest. Health benefits happen at lower weight loss levels than cosmetic changes. Focus on how you feel and your health markers (blood pressure, blood sugar) rather than just the scale number to stay motivated.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
The desire for the cosmetic effects of weight loss often far exceeds the desire for the health benefits associated with reducing weight... This results in a mismatch between the patient’s goals for weight loss and what diet and exercise can realistically achieve.
Why this rating
Based on observational data and regulatory trends cited in the statement.
Source
The Science of Obesity Management: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement
George A. Bray et al. · Endocrine Reviews · 2018
DOI 10.1210/er.2017-00253
narrative_reviewCited 806×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Weight loss achieved through reduced energy intake and increased energy expenditure reduces the risk and severity of obesity-associated diseases (including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer) in a dose-related manner, where greater weight loss yields better health outcomes.Strong
- The phenotype of 'metabolically healthy obesity' (MHO) is a transient state that progresses over time to an unhealthy phenotype, particularly in children and adolescents, and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk compared to metabolically healthy normal weight individuals.Good
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →