The International Weight Control Registry (IWCR) is flipping the usual scientific process on its head. A group of forward-thinking researchers are doing something new — finding real weight loss success in a 2-way conversation with the public, building a true partnership that goes beyond data-driven science to people-driven discovery.
The IWCR is a transformational initiative to find the most successful — and healthy — weight loss strategies from across the globe. We want to help everyone interested in weight loss be more successful.
Most science tests isolated theories in laboratory settings, but any dieter will tell you this doesn’t work with weight loss in the messy real world. That’s why IWCR is building the largest weight study ever attempted, representing a third wave — leaving the lab behind to partner with dieters struggling on the front lines of weight loss. The IWCR team know that scientists can’t keep trying the same narrow approaches, and are looking to the public for practical solutions.
Anyone who’s ever attempted weight loss has experimented on themselves to find what works best. We’re honoring everyone’s struggles by building a citizen-to-scientist partnership. A collaboration between the science world and the real world to produce new insights and better results.
There’s much we don’t know about weight maintenance in the real world. But the missing puzzle pieces are already out there, in the lived experiences of millions of people. We’re throwing out old preconceptions to go broad and deep instead of narrow and cautious. The hope of finding better answers to the obesity problem lies with creating a real dialog between scientists and the public.
Lasting weight loss is possible. Many have already achieved it. Many more could do it too, if they had access to better practical knowledge and support — and that’s what IWCR will ultimately provide — with your help.
