The Utter Ridiculousness of the 5-10% Weight Loss Recommendation

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The idea that people can gain “clinically meaningful health benefits” by losing 5-10% of their body weight is ubiquitous and ridiculous. Sometimes it is recommended as a way to improve general health, to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors, or to improve a specific health condition. I wrote about this, and a study that tested it, here. Today I want to look at the sheer folly of the basic math and logic of this because this 5-10% weight loss idea doesn’t just defy research, it defies logic and math.