C minus

Fat-o-matic blogged about a New York Times article which followed a format we're all used to by now. "Dieting doesn't work, so we should keep on dieting." I've coined the term "Diet Harder" to describe this mentality. (As in, Diet Hard with a Vengence! Fat Free and Diet Hard! Ain't I clever)

Anyway, enough of my self-congratulations over a bad joke. The article quote pulled out had a bit that struck me as absolutely amazing.

Counseling-based weight-loss programs — those led by dietitians, nurses or doctors — produced an average weight loss of 6 percent of initial body weight, or about 11 pounds, at the end of one year. By the end of three years, participants had regained about half of that weight, and at the end of five years they had typically regained all of it.

Still, the lead author, Dr. Michael L. Dansinger, a physician with Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, said: “When it comes to long-term weight loss, the health care system wants an A-plus grade, but based on this report, I’d give it a C minus. Primary care doctors should take a more active role in seeing patients more regularly for lifestyle management.

Emphasis is mine. The study shows that participants had typically regained all of the weight lost from dieting within 5 years. A complete and total failure to lose weight. And THIS merits a C-? A passing grade. Heck, a satisfactory grade. Barely, sure, but still a friggin C-. I get that you're not supposed to be happy with a C minus, but it still means you passed. That is the response to patients typically accomplishing nothing with a weight loss program? Talk about grade inflation. When they look at the completely unproductive system they've promoted and decide that its barely passing, this tells us a lot about the misplaced priorities in the medical establishment.