Prevalence of Weight Loss Sustainability In the Indian Population
Most Indian adults who lose weight struggle to maintain it for more than 1–2 years, and only a minority achieve long-term weight loss maintenance, similar to global trends where about 80% of lost weight is regained within five years. This “weight cycling” is driven by biology, lifestyle, environmental and social factors that are particularly strong in the Indian context.
Weight Loss – Let’s know its real meaning
In research, weight loss usually means a reduction in body weight of at least 5–10% from baseline, achieved through diet, activity, medications, or surgery. Long-term weight loss maintenance is often defined as maintaining at least 10% of initial body weight for a year or more after intentional weight loss.
Clinically, even a 5–10% loss improves blood pressure, sugar control, and lipid profiles, but these benefits depend heavily on maintaining the loss, not just achieving it once.
How common is sustained weight loss?
India is facing rapidly increasing obesity, with recent reviews estimating obesity among Indian adults at around 40%, and the NFHS‑5 showing approximately 23% of women and 22.1% of men as overweight. In such settings, more people are attempting weight control, but evidence suggests that only 20% of overweight adults globally manage to maintain at least 10% weight loss long-term, while more than half of the lost weight is regained within two years and more than 80% within five years.
Indian data on long-term maintenance are limited, but clinical reviews highlight high attrition from lifestyle programs, mirroring international patterns where drop-out and relapse are the norm rather than the exception. This means that in real life, most Indian adults who lose weight will gain it back partially or completely within a few years, unless there is structured, ongoing support.
Why majority of the population fail to sustain weight loss?
Many physical and behavioural factors work against long-term success. After weight loss, resting metabolic rate often decreases, hunger hormones increase, and appetite increases, making maintenance difficult. Frequent dieting and high hunger scores predict weight gain, explaining why "yo-yo dieters" often struggle more.
On the behavioural side, systematic reviews show that when ongoing support is stopped, people return to old eating and activity patterns, gradually improving their condition. Extended-care interventions (continued counselling, follow-up, or digital contact) can reduce weight by several kilograms over 1–2 years, underscoring how important continued behavioural support is.
Causes of failure in India
The obesity environment in India adds additional layers of difficulty. Rapid urbanization, sedentary jobs, and easy access to calorie-dense, refined foods are the main reasons for increasing obesity among Asian Indians. Traditional high-carbohydrate meals with frequent fried snacks, sugary beverages, and late-night dinners make it easy to meet daily calorie requirements, even if portions look "normal."
Social and cultural pressures make maintenance more complicated: food is central to hospitality, festivals are frequent, and saying "no" to extra food may be considered rude, leading to frequent omissions. Limited safe public spaces for walking, long commute hours and irregular work schedules in many cities consistently reduce opportunities for physical activity, which is strongly linked to better weight maintenance.
Practical steps to improve weight loss sustainability
Evidence from long-term trials points to some strategies that consistently improve maintenance. People who continue to lose weight regularly monitor weight, remain physically active (often 200–250 minutes of moderate activity per week), and have some type of structure or accountability (such as group sessions or digital tracking). Planning Indian meals based on vegetables, pulses and minimally processed foods, while limiting fried foods, sweets and sugary drinks most days of the week, helps keep energy intake in check without feeling "on a diet."
For Indian adults, realistic, process-focused goals and long-term support matter more than short, aggressive diets. Creating small daily habits (fixed meal times, a form of activity you enjoy, weekly self-weighing, and problem solving after lapses) rather than relying solely on willpower is in line with what research has identified as the main determinants of long-term success.
- Dt. Simran Kushwaha
Executive Nutritionist | The Nuva
References:
1. Recent Trends in the Prevention and Management of Obesity Among Adults: A Systematic Review. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12399046/)
2. Predictors of attrition from a weight loss program. A study of adult patients with obesity in a community setting. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8292291/)
3. Predictors of weight maintenance. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10023729/)
4. Determinants of weight loss maintenance: a systematic review. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7416131/)
