How come starvation isn’t used as a treatment for obesity, even though without food the body will consume fat reserves?

Question

How come starvation isn’t used as a treatment for obesity, even though without food the body will consume fat reserves?

In: Biology

Answer 1

That’s the only real treatment for obesity – to eat less fuel than you burn. An obese person can’t just stop eating food entirely because they need to constantly take in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to keep living.

Starving yourself by eating just the bare minimum of nutrients to keep living isn’t generally successful because weight loss is a matter of changing habits and not relapsing. Starvation, like fad diets, is not a sustainable habit, feels terrible and usually results in the person givibg up and eating more.