15 Common Mistakes When Trying To Lose Weight: An Essay On Evidence-Based Analysis.

Specific Claims Backed by Evidence and Research

The article titled ’15 common mistakes when trying to lose weight’ aims to discuss five common mistakes when people try to lose weight. The article has been published in the ‘Healthline’ on August 11, 2021. The claims given related to the common mistakes are specific. For instance, Spritzler (2021) highlighted that people focus only on the scale or not exercise too much. The claim made is specific as each highlights that how different factors influence people’s journey while trying to lose weight. One example can prove how the claim is specific. For example, one mistake highlighted was choosing low fat or diet food. The author claimed that diet food tend to have opposite effect as they are loaded with sugar. This claim was supported by evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and government websites on diets and nutrition (CDC 2019). Thus, the face value of the article is high as the claims have been supported by referencing from government websites or journal articles.

The author has not backed up all the information by referring to any expert in the field. However, for almost all of the answers, reference has been given to various research studies as well as review articles that have investigated about the claims. Some of the research studies that have been mentioned in the article are studies on exercise. With reference to three journal articles, the author highlighted that excessive exercise is not effective in the long-term and leads to various forms of stress. People trying to lose weight do not life weights. The article mentioned about a review of 32 studies where it was found that combining aerobic exercise with weightlifting was the best strategy for reducing fat in 4, 700 people with obesity (Morze et al. 2021). 

By going through the link provided, it can be concluded that the evidence are scientific in nature as each statement has been confirmed based on actual study and use of appropriate outcome measurement tool. For instance, to prove weightlifting as a best strategy to lose weight, the author reported about a systematic review paper which investigated about the impact of different training modalities on anthropometric outcomes in patients with obesity. Weight lifting or resistance training was found to improve anthropometric outcomes such as BMI and body weight. The explanation given for the same was that resistance training introduced smaller energy expenditure change thus contributing to lesser effects on anthropometric outcomes (Morze et al. 2021). Thus, the evidence is backed up by evidence from 32 research studies. In addition, the author has supported the claims with support from government based guidelines too. The strength of the article is that the article has put forward 15 clear counterarguments on why certain behavior cannot contribute to weight loss. Effective arguments have been given to oppose each point. The gap is that no counterargument has been provided to support the claim. 

Two Journal Articles That Support The Claim Made By The Authors Are As Follows: 

Journal: PloS one 

Title: Adherent use of digital health trackers is associated with weight loss 

Reference to Government Guidelines and Expert Opinions

Authors: Pourzanjani, A., Quisel, T., & Foschini, L. (2016). 

The article aimed to study the relation between weight fluctuation and activity tracking among individuals using digital health trackers. To conduct the investigation, the authors focused on recruiting population group who used activity trackers such as MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper. The primary analysis focused on measuring the association between weight loss and tracking frequency for each users. In the first analysis, positive association between weight loss and activity tracking was found. In addition, the analysis in terms of tracking revealed that weight loss is significantly higher during period of high adherence compared to low adherence to tracking. The main hypothesis for the study was that users tend to lose more weight during adherent periods. The hypothesis was proved true by the end of the study after both types of analysis were completed.

The above journal article relates well to the consumer claim that ‘not tracking what you eat’ is a mistake done by people losing weight. From the evidence and research on frequency of weight loss as per adherence to the tracking device, it can be concluded that the argument of tracking the frequency of different foods is useful in achieving better success in the weight loss journey. 

Title: A meta-analysis of food labeling effects on consumer diet behaviors and industry practices. 

Authors: Shangguan, S., Afshin, A., Shulkin, M., Ma, W., Marsden, D., Smith, J., ... & PRICE 

The aim of the systematic review was to characterize the quantitative effects of labeling and assess response of consumers. The primary intervention of interest for all the studies was food labeling in terms of nutritional content available on the packages such as nutrient content, health-related claims, symbols and logos. The outcome of interest were consumer behaviour such as food choices and consumption of the labeled food items, industry responses and diet related measures such as adiposity, metabolic risk factors and risk of coronary heart disease or diabetes. Based on search for literature in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL and Cochrane library, it was found that food labeling had significant impact on consumer behaviour. Food labeling decreased energy intake by 6.6% and consumption of other unhealthy options by10.6%. However, labeling did not significantly changed the intake of dietary targets such as total carbohydrates, protein and saturated fats. However, lack of studies was found that evaluated the effect of food labeling on adiposity or other metabolic risk factors. In addition, lack of evidence was found for industry responses. No hypothesis was developed by the author, but the results of the study proved that food labeling is effective in reducing consumer’s behaviour and dietary intake of certain nutrients. 

The above study supports the author’s claim as Spritzler (2021) states that people tend to misread label information and consume unwanted calories. However, by reviewing the nutrition facts labels, they get complete information while selecting information about food. The significance of the above research article is that it supports the claim that reading food labels can change consumer behaviour and help them to modify their food intake patterns.

Research Studies on Exercise

Journal: Nutrition 

Title: The effect of low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets on weight loss and lipid levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 

Authors: Chawla, S., Tessarolo Silva, F., Amaral Medeiros, S., Mekary, R. A., & Radenkovic, D 

The aim of the systematic review was to address the debate on low-fat and low-carbohydrate diet and its effect on body weight, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high density lipo-protein cholesterol (HDL). The search for literature was done in MEDLINE and databases from the Web of Science. The selection criteria were to select randomized controlled trials that compared the efficacy of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets. Studies done with adult group were included and those done on children or adolescents were excluded. Based on the analysis of findings from research studies, it could be identified that weight loss was high in participants who had a low-carbohydrate diet compared to low-fat group. This group experienced statistically significant reduction in body weight and triglycerides. Thus, in this study, low-carbohydrate was identified as a better strategy to promote weight loss compared to low-fat diet. However, the precaution suggested was that the above diet option should be balanced with potential harms from high fat diet. The study did not had any hypothesis, but the research aim has been addressed. 

One way in which the above article refutes the claim is that Spritzler (2021) mentioned that low-fat diet can make you feel hungrier and people tend to eat more. In addition, the author stated that low carb diet suppresses hunger, it may slow down or prevent weight loss. The article above opposed the claim by showing that low-carb diet is useful in preventing weight low. It gave the implication that the choice of diet should be tailored according to the patient’s baseline levels. 

Conclusion:

The consumer claim made by Spritzler (2021) is that during the weight loss journey, people tend to follow misguided or outdated actions. The author mentioned about 15 common mistakes that people do when trying to lose weights. Some of the important mistakes highlighted were focusing only on the weight scale, no exercise, eating too much or too little, not lifting weights, choosing low fat diets, not having enough protein and fiber, having unrealistic expectations and not tracking what they are eating. The strength of the claim is that each of the claim has been supported with references from latest research literatures. Most of the claims have been linked with findings from systematic review papers and other research designs. Thus, the original claim has become reliable as it is supported by article references. The claim is consistence with other two scientific article identified in the discussion. However, uncertainties have been found in the area of using or interpreting food related information such as labeling. It is recommended that education be given to consumers to effectively use nutrition related information.

References 

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 2019. Get the Facts: Added Sugars. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/added-sugars.html

Chawla, S., Tessarolo Silva, F., Amaral Medeiros, S., Mekary, R. A., and Radenkovic, D. 2020. The effect of low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets on weight loss and lipid levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients, 12(12), 3774. 

Morze, J., Rücker, G., Danielewicz, A., Przyby?owicz, K., Neuenschwander, M., Schlesinger, S., and Schwingshackl, L. 2021. Impact of different training modalities on anthropometric outcomes in patients with obesity: A systematic review and network meta?analysis. Obesity Reviews, 22(7), e13218. 

Pourzanjani, A., Quisel, T., and Foschini, L. 2016. Adherent use of digital health trackers is associated with weight loss. PloS one, 11(4), e0152504. 

Shangguan, S., Afshin, A., Shulkin, M., Ma, W., Marsden, D., Smith, J., ... & PRICE, F. 2019. A meta-analysis of food labeling effects on consumer diet behaviors and industry practices. American journal of preventive medicine, 56(2), 300-314. 

Spritzler, F. 2021. 15 Common Mistakes When Trying to Lose Weight.Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/weight-loss-mistakes#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2 

Morze, J., Rücker, G., Danielewicz, A., Przyby?owicz, K., Neuenschwander, M., Schlesinger, S., & Schwingshackl, L. (2021). Impact of different training modalities on anthropometric outcomes in patients with obesity: A systematic review and network meta?analysis. Obesity Reviews, 22(7), e13218.