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Why Sustained Dietary Weight Loss Is So Difficult

The Weight Set-Point Explained

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Obesity, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery

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Abstract

Many dieters experience years of yo-yo weight fluctuation. Typically, the yo-yo effect is described as being able to lose weight on a diet but invariably, the lost weight is regained in the long-term. The weight set-point theory explains these dietary failures by hypothesizing that each individual has a weight setting which is determined by a combination of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. When an individual’s weight diverges from the set-point, a biological homeostatic response occurs. Changes in appetite, satiety, and basal metabolic rate occur to defend the set-point weight. Powerful fluctuations occur in the expenditure of basal metabolic energy via the autonomic nervous system.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consultant Bariatric Surgeon, UCLH, London, UK

    Andrew Jenkinson

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  1. Andrew Jenkinson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Homerton University Hospital, London, UK

    Sanjay Agrawal

Section Editor information

  1. Centre for Obesity Research, Department of Medicine, University College London, London, UK

    Rachel L. Batterham MBBS, PhD, FRCP

  2. University College London Hospitals Bariatric Centre for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery, University College London Hospital, London, UK

    Rachel L. Batterham MBBS, PhD, FRCP

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Jenkinson, A. (2021). Why Sustained Dietary Weight Loss Is So Difficult. In: Agrawal, S. (eds) Obesity, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54064-7_112-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54064-7_112-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-54064-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-54064-7

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