Happy Humphrey - Massive Weight Loss/obesity Study

Massive Weight Loss/obesity Study

In the spring of 1965, Humphrey left the clinic where he had lived the previous two years. He weighed a comparatively healthy 232 lb (105 kg), a total loss of 570 lb (260 kg) since he was admitted. Humphrey won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as "champion slimmer" for this weight loss.

According to the two-year study headed up by Unit Director Dr. Wayne Greenberg, Humphrey's weight loss on each of the three diets was approximately the same; however the nature of the actual body matter lost during each differed significantly. The vast majority of the weight lost on the high-protein diet was body fat and Humphrey's hunger was satisfied for longer periods between meals as well. On the high-fat regimen, about two-thirds of the weight lost was body fat with the rest being water, with an undesirable side effect of high blood cholesterol. On the carbohydrate-based diet, half of the weight lost consisted of body fat and the other half was water and muscle tissue. Greenberg noted at the end of the study that dieters who only use a scale as a means of determining weight loss can't tell how much of what they are losing is actually body fat as opposed to water and muscle tissue.