What is the gold standard for weight loss?

Author: Abby Langworth  |  Last update: Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Dr. Tim Church, MD, MPH, PhD, Wondr Health Chief Medical Officer, dives into the impact of 15% weight loss—why 15% is the new magic number for weight loss, and how this has an impact on the overall health of your population. 2024 has been the year of weight-loss medications and next year will likely be too.

What is the best measurement for weight loss?

The body mass index, or BMI, is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy. A BMI calculator can tell you if you are underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese.

What is the gold standard treatment for obesity?

Bariatric surgery leads to the largest and most sustained weight reduction, although different procedures result in different average weight losses, and patients undergoing each procedure vary in weight loss and its maintenance.

What is the gold standard for body weight?

DXA is a medical imaging technique that uses two X-ray beams to measure the density of bone, fat, and lean tissue in the body. It is considered one of the most accurate and reliable methods for assessing body composition, including body fat percentage.

What is the gold standard test for obesity?

The gold standard for diagnosing obesity according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is BMI which is based on a simple measurement of body weight and height of an individual.

The "Gold Standard" in Weight Loss?

What is the gold standard of weight loss?

Typically speaking, a gastric bypass patient can expect to see weight loss of around 60 – 80% of their excess body weight as measured over a two year period. The surgery itself involves a radical reorganisation of your stomach as the surgeon creates a new 'gastric pouch' that will operate as your new stomach.

Why is BMI no longer accurate?

However, BMI fails to distinguish fat adequately from fat-free mass, such as muscle and bone and other bodily tissue. In fact, a higher BMI really could be due to having 'big bones' after all!

What is the gold standard for body fat?

DEXA Plus scanners are considered the gold standard in total body composition assessment for optimizing health and human performance.

Why do I eat and not get fat?

You may be born naturally small and your low BMI can be due to your genes. You may have a very high metabolism and find it hard to put on weight, even if you eat foods that have a lot of calories. You may not follow a healthy, balanced diet because you forget to eat or cannot afford nutritious foods.

What is the most accurate test for body fat?

DEXA is the current gold standard of body composition analysis. This method uses low-dose X-ray imaging to generate a detailed image of the body, revealing areas of fat, bone, and muscle. With these images, it is possible to determine not only the proportions of these body components but also pinpoint their location.

What is the strongest weight loss prescription pill?

An analysis of 143 studies revealed that phentermine-topiramate and GLP-1 receptor agonists (like liraglutide and semaglutide) are among the most effective medications for reducing weight in people with obesity. The typical body weight reduction with these medications is 6% to 11%.

What is the best weight loss program for obesity?

What are the best weight loss programs?
  • WeightWatchers Points Program.
  • Mayo Clinic Diet.
  • Noom Weight.
  • WeightWatchers Clinic.
  • Optavia.
  • TOPS Club.
  • National Diabetes Prevention Plan.
  • Nutrisystem.

What BMI is needed for phentermine?

Per guidelines recommendation, phentermine can be prescribed to adults with a BMI of 30 or higher or a BMI of 27 or higher with a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure or diabetes. It is worth noting that weight management with medications is not right for everyone with a BMI over 30.

What is statistically the best way to lose weight?

Studies show that people who maintain their weight loss over the long term get regular physical activity. How many calories you burn depends on how often, how long and how hard you exercise. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking.

Why am I fat if I barely eat?

If you're asking yourself, “Why am I gaining weight when I barely eat,” several factors may be at play. Your body may be holding onto fat stores if your eating habits are inconsistent or restricted. Or, your weight gain may be the effect of a sedentary lifestyle, medical condition, or long-term stress.

How to get a fast metabolism?

5 ways to boost metabolism
  1. Exercise more. Add interval training to your cardio routine and burn more calories in less time. ...
  2. Weight train. By adding muscle mass to your body, you can burn more calories at rest. ...
  3. Don't skip meals, especially breakfast. ...
  4. Eat fat-burning foods. ...
  5. Get a good night's sleep every night.

What are two diseases associated with being overweight?

People with obesity are more likely to develop a number of potentially serious health problems, including: Heart disease and strokes. Obesity makes you more likely to have high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels, which are risk factors for heart disease and strokes. Type 2 diabetes.

What is the gold standard metabolism?

Indirect calorimetry (IC) is seen as the gold standard to measure BMR [4,5]. Human oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production in expired air are directly measured and then used for the calculation of BMR by the formula of Weir [4,5]. IC is an extremely valid method.

What is the most accurate body fat calculator?

DEXA is the most accurate method of body fat measurement, but one downside is that it's not readily available in every geographic area, and it can be relatively expensive compared to other methods.

What is the gold standard for fecal fat?

Introduction:Fecal fat balance with chemical determination of fecal fat according to the method of van de Kamer is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of fat malabsorption.

Is BMI 20 skinny?

If your BMI is: under 18.5kg/m2 – you are considered underweight and possibly malnourished. 18.5 to 24.9kg/m2 – you are within a healthy weight range for young and middle-aged adults. 25.0 to 29.9kg/m2– you are considered overweight.

What is replacing BMI?

health's fact checking process. A new study suggests waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) may be a more accurate indicator of health and risk of illness than BMI or body mass index. In the study, a lower WHR was associated with overall better health outcome.

Why does my BMI say I'm overweight but I'm not?

According to Dr. Cerna, for some people, BMI can be skewed. “If you have a lot of muscle mass, such as in athletes and bodybuilders, your BMI will be overestimated. In seniors and people with less muscle mass, BMI may be underestimated,” said Dr.

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