Healthy weight loss: How can I reduce excess weight in the long term?

More than every second person in Germany is overweight or obese. Men are more frequently affected than women. There are various reasons for the high number of people who are overweight or obese. These primarily include lifestyle and environmental factors such as:

• Long periods of sitting and lack of exercise 
• Increased consumption of processed and high-calorie foods 
• Constant availability of food 
• Increase in portion sizes in supermarkets and fast food restaurants 

However, there are also other factors that can promote overweight and obesity. These include genetic predisposition, illnesses such as depression, eating or hormonal disorders or pregnancy. Persistent stress and side effects of medication can also play a role. 

At the same time, the following applies: In the case of severe obesity, even a moderate reduction in weight has many positive effects. For people with diabetes, for example, this means that a weight loss of just 1 to 3 kilograms has a positive effect on blood sugar levels. Blood pressure also drops by an average of 1 mmHg (systolic and diastolic) for every kilo lost. Those who lose 5 to 10 kilograms measurably reduce their cholesterol and blood lipid levels, relieve the liver and also the musculoskeletal system.

Obesity: Consequences for the heart

Being obese has health consequences, especially for the heart. People with obesity are significantly more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease than people of normal weight.  

Numerous heart diseases such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure or stroke, occur more frequently in people with obesity. The combination of obesity and type 2 diabetes is considered to be particularly fatal for the heart and blood vessels, but anyway the cardiovascular risk increases in the case of severe obesity.

Being severely overweight – or being obese according to experts – is both an autonomous chronic disease and a risk factor for various complications. Whether a person is overweight or obese can be determined using the body mass index (BMI). 

The BMI is a unit of measurement used to estimate body weight in relation to height. People with a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m² are considered to be of normal weight. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 kg/m² or higher. A BMI of 30 kg/m² or more is referred to as obesity.

The BMI is calculated as follows: Body weight (kg) divided by the square of the height (m²).

The BMI is divided into weight classes using the following table:
 

When losing weight if you are already overweight or obese, the focus is on your own health, well-being and quality of life: People who are (very) overweight can gradually reduce the consequences for their health by losing weight in a healthy way and thus prevent many different illnesses.  

This is particularly important in the case of severe overweight (obesity). When men and women with obesity lose weight, their risk of developing high blood pressure or other cardiovascular diseases decreases, as does the risk of dying from these diseases.  

The risk of type 2 diabetes is also reduced by losing weight if you are already overweight or obese. People who are very overweight and have prediabetes at the same time can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes if they reduce their body weight by 10 percent.

Weight loss requires an energy deficit or a negative energy balance. This means that the body consumes more energy than is absorbed. The daily consumption of a person’s energy varies from person to person and can be measured or estimated by doctors or nutritionists, for example. A strategy for healthy weight loss can then be developed on this basis.

Take up less energy through your diet

Healthy weight loss is primarily a question of your diet: However, zero diets or other diet strategies that promise quick success in losing weight are not helpful. It is better to reduce your weight in small but sustainable steps. Experts recommend taking up around 500 to 600 kilocalories (kcal for short, often referred to colloquially as calories) of energy less than you actually need every day. This corresponds to a weight loss of 1 to 2 kilograms per month. 

To lose weight in a healthy way, you should eat more foods that contain few calories but as many nutrients, fibers and vitamins as possible – for example vegetables, fruit, legumes or whole-grain products. Calorie reduction can be achieved through various nutritional approaches. For example, a reduced intake of carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids and an increased consumption of high-fiber foods and plant-based sources of protein are considered suitable. It is important to choose a strategy that suits you well and can be implemented in the long term. 

You should also take time to eat and enjoy it consciously. This helps you to become more aware of your own feelings of hunger and satiety. With a food diary, you can better assess your own eating and drinking habits and discover unnecessary calorie traps. The diary can also be discussed during a nutritional consultation. 

You can find more information on what a healthy diet can look like here.

Exercise boosts fat burning

Regular exercise is a suitable means of improving your energy balance and losing weight in a healthy way in the long term. Through sport and regular exercise, the body builds up muscles, which require more energy than fat tissue – even at rest. This increases energy consumption.

To reduce excess weight, experts recommend at least 150 minutes, preferably 200 to 250 minutes of endurance training per week. This can increase personal fitness and well-being. It is important to consult a doctor in advance to determine which type of sport is suitable in each individual case. Sports that are easy on the joints, such as swimming, cycling or Nordic walking, are usually suitable.