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By Dr. Chinta Sidharthan Oct 19 2023 Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM

In a recent study published in the PLOS ONE Journal, researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 1999 and 2018 and examined the use of exercise, diet, and pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products for weight loss among obese and non-obese individuals of both sexes.

Study:  Changes in the prevalence of U.S. adults using diet, exercise, pharmaceuticals and diet products for weight loss over time: Analysis of NHANES 1999–2018 . Image Credit: Stock-Asso/Shutterstock.com Background

Although the prevalence of obesity in the United States (U.S.) has increased drastically over the past two decades, efforts and research on weight loss have also grown.

While there are various approaches to weight loss, such as diet, physical activity, weight loss products, and pharmacological options, the varying popularity of these approaches over time and or based on the obesity status has not been investigated.

Furthermore, while studies have reported that women tend to engage in weight loss practices more than men, especially those based on diets, the changes in these trends over time have not been examined.

Similarly, while research indicates that obese individuals are more likely to follow weight loss practices than normal weight, the differences in the choice of weight loss strategies among those attempting to lose weight have also not been well understood.

Moreover, factors other than individual opinions, such as the influence of media and health professionals, could also impact the popularity of some weight loss strategies. About the study

In the present study, the researchers used publicly available data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in the U.S. between 1999 and 2018 to investigate the changing trends in weight loss practices over the years and to understand whether these changes also showed patterns associated with obesity status and sex.

The study used data from participants above the age of 20 and provided complete information on body mass index (BMI), smoking status, weight loss practices, and educational qualifications. Related StoriesMucin glycosylation plays crucial role in protecting against obesity and intestinal inflammationNew findings about nerve pathways to brown fat could lead to obesity treatmentsStudy finds non-nutritive sweetened beverages more effective than water for weight loss

Individuals who were pregnant or had a BMI of less than 18.5 kg per m2 were excluded from the analyses. The information on demographic factors and weight loss practices was gathered using questionnaires.

Individuals who answered affirmatively to questions about intentional weight loss in the past year were further queried about the specific practices employed for weight loss.

The factors that were investigated through all the survey years were exercise, consumption of smaller quantities of food or lower-calorie foods, skipping meals, reducing the intake of fats, liquid diets, consumption of diet foods, following special diets for weight loss, increasing water intake, use of diet products, or being engaged in weight loss programs.

Of these factors, those involving pharmaceutical or diet weight loss products or using laxatives were considered medications or diet products. In contrast, all the practices involving food and liquid intake modifications for weight loss were considered diet-related practices.

The data between 2005 and 2018 were further analyzed for specific dietary restrictions such as sugars and carbohydrates and increased vegetable and fruit consumption. Obesity was defined based on a BMI above 30 kg per m2. Results

The findings suggested that, as previously observed, women and individuals with obesity were more likely to employ weight loss practices over time, and the prevalence of weight loss practices over time had also increased.

Furthermore, of the weight loss practices, the diet-related ones were the most prevalent, constituting 87% to 93% of the weight loss methods.

Exercise-related methods for weight loss had a prevalence of 47% to 68%, and pharmaceutical and dietary products for weight loss only accounted for 5% to 21% of the weight loss practices.

The weight loss practices showed modest differences associated with obesity status and sex, with obese women showing an increase in exercise for weight loss.

Diet-related weight loss practices also showed a temporal change, with traditional dietary approaches such as fat, portion, and calorie restrictions becoming less prevalent and carbohydrate and sugar restrictions being adopted more frequently.

While the use of pharmacotherapeutic and dietary products for weight loss showed a lower prevalence compared to other weight loss practices over time, the use of such products was the highest among women with obesity.

Less than 2% of the men with obesity and less than 10% of the women with obesity reported taking prescription drugs for weight loss, and compared to other chronic diseases, the use of medications for obesity is significantly low. Conclusions

Overall, the study showed observable differences in adopting weight loss strategies over time, with the popularity of specific practices varying according to obesity status and sex.

However, the patterns of temporal change in weight loss practices remained the same for obese individuals of both genders. Journal reference:

Kuk, J. L., Daniels, S. B., Ardern, C. I., & Pooni, R. (2023). Changes in the prevalence of U.S. adults using diet, exercise, pharmaceuticals, and diet products for weight loss over time: Analysis of NHANES 1999–2018. PLOS ONE, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292810. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292810

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

While Dabo Swinney isn’t inflating LSU‘s grade for beating his team in Saturday’s season opener, Brian Kelly is ready to give the Clemson coach an incomplete for his evaluation.

Both coaches weighed in Tuesday on how LSU’s 17-10 win at Clemson should be viewed. After trailing 10-3 at halftime, LSU outscored Clemson 14-0 in the second half and finished with significant edges in both total yards (354-261) and first downs (25-13).

LSU rose six spots to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll Tuesday, while Clemson dropped four spots to No. 8.

“It was a helluva game, down to the last play,” Swinney said in his weekly news conference. “Right out of the gate. It’s like getting the final exam [on] Day 1 of class. They made a 65; we made a 58. Neither one of us were great.”

Kelly had not won a season opener at LSU before Saturday, and the victory was his first with the Tigers against an AP top-5 opponent.

“I thought we dominated them in the second half, so he’s really a really good grader for giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us,” Kelly said in his news conference when told about Swinney’s comment.

“Or he didn’t see the second half, which, that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half.”

Kelly added that LSU is moving on to this week’s game against Louisiana Tech.

“Clemson is a darn good football team,” Kelly said. “That’s a top-notch team, and they’re going to be a team in the hunt for [the] playoff picture. We hope we are, too. But it was only one game. So I don’t know if he’s a hard grader or an easy grader, but I like the way that we played in the second half.”

Clemson visits LSU to open the 2026 season.

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

Ohio State climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Tuesday, LSU and Miami moved into the top five, and Florida State jumped back into the rankings at the expense of Alabama, which plummeted to its lowest spot in 17 seasons.

The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes to move up two spots after their win over preseason No. 1 Texas. Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season poll for the first time since November 2015.

The Longhorns dropped to No. 7 as the media voters shuffled the rankings following a topsy-turvy Labor Day weekend. It was only the second time — and first since 1972 — that two top-five teams lost in Week 1 and the first time that four top-10 teams lost.

Only three teams in the Top 25 are in the same spot they were in the preseason poll.

Penn State got seven first-place votes and remained No. 2. LSU, which received three first first-place votes, was followed by Georgia and Miami to round out the top five.

Oregon got the other first-place vote and was followed by Texas, the Clemson Tigers, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

LSU jumped six spots after winning at Clemson and Miami got a five-rung promotion for its victory over Notre Dame.

The biggest movers in the poll were Florida State and Alabama after the Seminoles’ 31-17 victory in their head-to-head matchup.

The Seminoles, who were 15 spots outside the Top 25 in the preseason, are now No. 14. The Crimson Tide fell all the way from No. 8 to No. 21 — their lowest ranking since Bama was No. 24 in the 2008 preseason poll. That was the second of Nick Saban’s 17 teams in Tuscaloosa.

It’s been quite a turnabout for Florida State. The Seminoles were No. 10 in the 2024 preseason, lost their first two games, finished 2-10 and weren’t ranked again until now.

Utah, at No. 25, joins Florida State as the only newcomers to this week’s poll. The Utes are ranked for the first time since last October, when they were at the front end of a seven-game losing streak.

Utah had received the second-most points, behind BYU, among teams outside the preseason Top 25, but the Utes got more credit for beating UCLA on the road than the Cougars received for hammering FCS foe Portland State.

Boise State, which had been No. 25, received no votes following its 34-7 loss at South Florida. The Broncos had appeared in 14 straight polls.

The other team to drop out of the poll was No. 17 Kansas State, which followed up its season-opening loss to Iowa State with a last-minute home win over FCS team North Dakota.

Ohio State is the first team to take over the top spot in the first regular-season poll since Alabama in 2012. It was the biggest jump to No. 1 in the first regular-season poll since USC was promoted from No. 3 in 2008.

Texas’ fall was the biggest for a preseason No. 1 since Auburn dropped to No. 8 in the first regular-season poll of 1984.

LSU has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 3 in 2012, and Miami has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 5 in 2004.

South Carolina is in the top 10 in the regular season for the first time since it was No. 8 in December 2013.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 10 (Nos. 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 11, 15, 23)

ACC: 4 (Nos. 5, 8, 14, 17)

Big 12: 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 24, 25)

Independent: 1 (No. 9)

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma: This weekend’s game will be the first meeting since Oklahoma beat the Wolverines in the Orange Bowl to win the 1975 national championship. Wolverines freshman QB Bryce Underwood gets put to the test in his second start.

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Venables: Michigan’s Underwood ‘a little different’

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Venables: Michigan's Underwood 'a little different'

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Bryce Underwood “looks to be wise beyond his years” and compared Michigan‘s freshman quarterback to former Clemson national championship QB Trevor Lawrence on Tuesday ahead of the No. 18 Sooners’ Week 2 visit from the No. 15 Wolverines.

Underwood, ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, will make his second career start at Oklahoma on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

The coveted freshman earned Michigan’s starting job at the end of fall camp, beating out a collection of experienced passers on the depth chart including offseason portal additions Mikey Keene (Fresno State) and Jake Garcia (East Carolina). Underwood delivered a smooth college debut against New Mexico in Week 1, completing 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown in Michigan’s 34-17 win.

At Oklahoma, Underwood is set to face a much stiffer challenge against Venables, who resumed control of the Sooners’ defensive playcalling ahead of the 2024 season, and an experienced defense that held Illinois State to 151 yards of total offense in Week 1.

The former Clemson defensive coordinator compared Underwood to Lawrence, the five-star quarterback prospect who started as a freshman in 2018 and led the Tigers to a national championship win over Alabama.

“He’s a little different,” Venables said of Underwood. “It reminds me a lot of a Trevor Lawrence. Quick. Decisive. Accurate. Poised. Tough. Consistent. There’s a reason he was the No. 1 player in America. And he’s got a maturity and a work ethic and leadership agility to go along with that.”

As Oklahoma seeks to rebound from a 6-7 finish last fall, a new-look Sooners offense will get a test of its own Saturday.

Behind transfer QB John Mateer and first-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, Oklahoma gained 495 yards of offense in its 35-3, season-opening win over Illinois State. Mateer, who arrived in the offseason from Washington State alongside Arbuckle, passed Baker Mayfield for the most passing yards by an Oklahoma QB in a debut with 392 yards.

On Tuesday, Venables highlighted the Wolverines’ experience on defense, particularly in the front seven, as a defining challenge for the Sooners in an intriguing Week 2 matchup between two of college football’s most storied brands.

“[It’s] a defense that for the last several years has been one of the gold standards of college football when it comes to playing good defense,” Venables said. “It’s going to be a great physical matchup, and for us, a great litmus test to where we’re at.”

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