“Many overweight persons fail at losing weight because they lack knowledge.”

"Many overweight persons fail at losing weight because they lack knowledge. They frequently fail in the long run because they eat too little or the wrong things and then cannot cope with the hunger pangs. Or they do not know that they may have developed an insulin resistance because they have too much abdominal fat. In that case, it is nearly impossible to lose weight without a professional plan. Patients' frustration is especially great when they supposedly eat a healthful diet and get regular exercise, but the results on the scale do not meet their expectations. Not infrequently the bathroom scale becomes an object of hatred that determines whether the day will be good or bad.

"That's one reason the number on the scale plays hardly any role in how I view my patients. It is particularly important with obese patients to see body composition in terms of water, fat and muscle mass and then to personalize treatment and make success visible. With the help of the medical Body Composition Analyzer (seca mBCA), I can show my patients exactly how they look inside and whether their weight loss is attributed to water or valuable muscle mass and not to fat. I also can explain to them why there's little change on the scale, but that they have built up muscle mass and lost dangerous abdominal fat. Then their perceived failure is suddenly explicable and can even be turned into a success. My patients get an enormous boost in motivation when they recognize the change in their body composition. The feeling of self-efficacy returns and self-esteem increases when they see in black and white on the trend graphs that they can change something. Then lasting success is possible."

* The data used are from an online survey conducted by YouGov Deutschland GmbH in which 2452 persons took part from 5 to 6 September 2018. The results were weighted and are representative of the UK population from the age of 18 years. Persons involved had a BMI = 30 and higher.