Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

Best Practices For Weight Management
With over 70 percent of Americans currently overweight or obese, it isn’t surprising that
many individuals report engaging in weight management efforts. 1 In fact, a 2019 report
from a national survey on current trends in weight loss attempts and strategies found that
42 percent of adults in the United States had recently attempted to lose weight, primarily
through reduced food consumption and exercise. 2 In this unit we examine the best practices
for weight management based on the body of evidence from many years of scientific
research.
BIOLOGY BEHIND THE CHALLENGE OF WEIGHT LOSS
We have just considered the gravity of the obesity problem in the U.S. and worldwide.
How is the U.S. combating its weight problem on a national level, and have the approaches
been successful? Successful weight loss is defined as individuals intentionally losing at least
10 percent of their body weight and keeping it off for at least one year. 3 Results from
some lifestyle intervention studies suggest that most individuals are not successful at longterm
weight loss. Yet an evaluation of successful weight loss involving more than fourteen
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