Women spend 15 years dieting – and still end up overweight

Bullied as a child, Rachel Bacon tried every diet around but was still overweight. Exhausted, she turned to medical experts and this is what she is doing now (and yes it includes Ozempic).

Exclusive: Australian women are spending nearly 15 years of their life on a diet.

Startling new research ­reveals that, despite the massive time investment, one-third of dieting women still feel like they have failed in their quest for fat loss.

Worse, their diet fads have taken a toll on their mental health.

Nineteen per cent of women are spending between three and eight hours each week engaging in thoughts about weight loss, which can be the equivalent of an eight-hour working day, according to new research released in weight loss program Juniper’s True Cost Of Diet Culture report.

The research found more than a third of women, or 35 per cent, who think about or engage in activities with the purpose of losing weight say they experience negative emotions including feelings of ­depression, anxiety, stress, feeling overwhelmed, powerless, or sadness.

Rachel Bacon has been battling with her weight all her life but has now turned to medical professionals with better results. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

And, despite the fighting fat fads obsession, in the past decade, the proportion of the population living with obesity has almost doubled. Currently, two to three Australians are living with obesity or are overweight, the equivalent of 12.5 million adults.

Endocrinologist Dr Ramy Bishay exclusively told The Saturday Telegraph that “far too often obesity is considered a lifestyle condition, but this report demonstrates that the ‘eat less, move more’ mantra is failing Australian women”.

“So much time and headspace is taken up by dieting and perceived quick fixes, when obesity is a medical condition that requires professional support and medical intervention.”

Dr Bishay – a staff specialist endocrinologist and clinical lead of the Metabolic and Weight Loss Program at Blacktown Hospital – said that while the report illuminated that weight loss is “on the minds of Australian women”, it revealed a true need for long-term solutions that negate “obsessive thought patterns”.

“What is required is a full holistic approach.”

Dr Bishay is also an expert with Juniper – a program that offers support and coaching via Telehealth and prescribed treatment including Saxenda, phentermine/topiramate and Ozempic.

But some patients opt not to use medications so the treatment is tailored to the patients needs and goals.

Dr Bishay said meta analysis of multiple trials up until now show improved weight loss with intermittent fasting over daily caloric restrictions in the shorten term.

He said several new randomised controlled trials show that early eating and early fasting, say from 8am to 12pm is associated with a better metabolic output, glucose, cholesterol and other metabolic benefits.

“I personally recommend everyone consider a 16 or at the very least a 12-hour fast,” he said.

“For the many women who have tried everything and remain overweight, a combination of prescription medication and holistic support services can help them improve metabolic function and help lose the weight for good.”

The study, to be released this week, was commissioned by Juniper and undertaken by YouGov, the sample comprised a nationally representative sample of 1014 women aged 18 plus.

The survey results were weighted by age and location using the latest population estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics to ensure they are representative of the population of Australian women 18 years and over.

Fat shaming just part of mum’s struggles

When Rachel Bacon was pregnant she was told that finding the baby on her ultrasound was like looking through snow.

“There was so much fat to get through before they could see the baby,” Ms Bacon, 42, revealed.

Rachel Bacon reached 150kg.

She had a wake-up call after having her first child.

She was well over 150kg when her baby was born and really can’t remember a time in her life when she didn’t feel overweight – or was being jabbed about it.

“Family members constantly ridiculed me about my weight, despite two out of three of them being very overweight themselves, while simultaneously feeding me on lollies and chips and fizzy and very little in the way of actually nourishing foods,” she said.

It wasn’t until her first child was six months old that Ms Bacon got her first wake-up call.

“I remember one night laying in bed and struggling to breathe when I was laying on my back.

“That was my first wake-up call. From the next day, I started going for walks with my baby in the pram. I tried hard to eat what I thought were better foods. With mixed results.”

She has been “sucked in” over the years by plenty of “herbal” magic potions and supplements that promised weight loss.

She always started her new diet on a Monday and if she ever got to Friday still eating like that, “it was a miracle”.

During lockdown was when Ms Bacon saw an ad for weight loss program Juniper. She began injecting weight loss drug Saxenda, on her doctor’s advice.

“The kilos just kept melting off. By June, I had lost 20.6kg.”

Ms Bacon managed to get down to 87.3kg, her all-time lowest adult weight.

So far though she hasn’t managed to make it to her goal of 25kg lost, and stopped and started Saxenda a few times.

She is now back to 94kg.

“Four weeks ago, I started taking Ozempic. My journey is still a work in progress,” she said.

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