It doesn't work. The patient tunes us out. If the patient stops listening, nothing else we say gets through either.
Some studies show even when people lose weight they die earlier.
Weight loss itself may have hazards we do not understand. We don't know enough about the different kinds of obesity and their associated health risks, or the different long-term risks of weight loss, to mindlessly prescribe it and still Do No Harm. Spend time getting to know your patient as a person, then trust what you know in your assessment. Focus on collaboratively brainstorming realistic changes under the patient's direct control. 4 Refer the patient to supportive services.