A medical expert is drawing attention with his claim that escaping severe obesity through diet and exercise alone is in effect nearly impossible.
Jang Hyeong-woo, a thoracic surgery professor at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, shared his views on obesity medication in a video published Saturday on the YouTube channel Jisik Hansang. "Can we really say that diet and exercise are ultimately the answer to weight loss? Anyone who says that is lying," he said.
Jang himself was once a severely obese patient weighing 118 kilograms. He has since lost a total of 40 kg using obesity medications including Wegovy and Mounjaro, and currently maintains a weight of 78 kg.
"For someone with a BMI (body mass index) over 30 — stage-2 obesity — it is extremely difficult to escape obesity through diet and exercise alone," he said. "I exercise myself, but I am not sure there is evidence that you absolutely have to. I can see that it is good for your health, but I do not know whether it actually helps with losing weight."
Jang said that when he weighed 118 kg, he would become short of breath just climbing stairs and struggled to find clothes that fit, leaving him consumed by self-reproach. High blood pressure, arrhythmia and sleep apnea made it hard to focus on daily life, he said, and a fatty liver added to his suffering.
"It felt as if an evil spirit had latched onto my body and would not let go — no matter how desperately I wanted to lose weight, I simply could not. I would lose a little and it would come right back," he said. "Telling patients with a BMI over 30 that they can reach a normal weight or escape obesity through exercise, diet and willpower alone is an extremely cruel form of gaslighting."
Jang underwent a partial gastrectomy in 2020, but when his weight began to climb again and health warning signs appeared, he ultimately turned to obesity medication. He said Wegovy brought a dramatic change — he lost 16 kg in 10 months, bringing his weight down to 81 kg. "Once I started taking Wegovy, that sharp, gnawing feeling of hunger largely disappeared," he said. "I eat less, and the weight just quietly melts away."
Citing clinical research on obesity medications, Jang said groups relying solely on diet and exercise saw weight reductions of less than 4 percent, while groups given drugs such as Wegovy or Mounjaro achieved weight loss of 16 to 21 percent. "Diet and exercise can benefit your health, but they cannot be called indispensable or the primary method for losing weight," he said.
He went on to warn that remaining obese triggers systemic inflammation throughout the body — much like radiation exposure — raises cancer risk and accelerates atherosclerosis. "The inflammatory response creates vascular toxicity that ages the blood vessel walls, so your vessels age faster than those of a lean person," he said. "By any means necessary, you must escape this state of obesity. That is the only way to live as long as an ordinary person."
betterj@heraldcorp.com
