Chronically obese people have caused biological changes to their bodies which will result (Picture Rex)

Obese people can no longer lose weight by ‘eating less and exercise more’ due to chemical changes in their bodies caused by gaining weight.

These biological changes mean they will struggle to be a normal weight for their entire lives, according to a new paper published in The Lancet.

Dr Christopher Ochner of the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, and lead author on the paper, said that in chronic obesity sufferers, ‘bodyweight seems to become biologically stamped in and defended.’

‘Few individuals ever truly recover from obesity; rather they suffer from ‘obesity in remission’. They are biologically very different from individuals of the same age, sex, and bodyweight who never had obesity.’




The finding means that doctors who advise obese patients to ‘eat less and exercise more’ may be asking them to do something near-impossible.

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The researchers say that such recommendations, may be ‘no more effective for the typical patient seeking weight reduction that would be a recommendation to avoid sharp objects for someone bleeding profusely.’

Instead, different measures which reverse changes to the body’s biology might be required to treat chronically obese patients.