About Women and Obesity Research

I was in Washington DC last week, to discuss the unique needs of women when it comes to weight loss research. This was an important meeting, since the committee's directive was to provide a report to Congress on the state of women's health research, and what directions should be addressed in the future. Multiple topics on women's health were addressed, and I talked about obesity and eating disorders.

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When it comes to weight control, it's clear that "one size does not fit all" for both men and women. But there are gender specific issues, many of which we are all familiar. Besides the biological differences (testosterone and muscle mass), women have many separate issues related to weight control, which have nothing to do with biology, and are connected to eating behavior, stress management, and other environmental (portion size) and behavioral (social) factors.

So, how can clinical research address these topics? It's important to have controlled research studies, to document recommendations made to the public, that are true, and based on evidence gathered in hundreds or thousands of women. This is an important distinction from personal stories and anecdotes, that cannot be the basis of widespread advice that works for most people. A personal story works for one person, and that's a great thing, but cannot usually be translated to others.

Like it or not, as women we are experienced multi-taskers and need a lifestyle plan that can support this is a realistic manner. While the perfect world option of eating 7-9 servings of produce a day and exercising for an hour daily sounds appealing, most of us struggle with that concept on a daily basis. Science and research reap great benefits for improving our health, but sometimes the bar can be set too high, based on "perfect world" research. While we all strive for a more healthful lifestyle, when the bar is set too high, for "optimum health", we all tend to give up and do nothing.

I think the message for weight control is a lifelong acceptance of moderation. The goal is to avoid having to lose weight at all, rather the effort goes into just "not gaining". That's a hard task, and takes a much work as losing weight. Plus, working on an earlier point of intervention where there's just 10 or 20 pounds to lose makes the lifestyle effort more sustainable. When it comes to weight loss, it's never too late. A jump-start on early intervention and prevention is the key.

What thoughts do you have on combating obesity?