In the Battle Against Weight, It's All About Maintenance

Source: Tufts University
January 22, 2004

Most dieters would probably tell you that losing weight is hard - but keeping it off is much harder. And while losing weight is great for health, keeping it off is what results in long-term health benefits. But keeping it all off is a challenge, according to a new study, which has found that most people who re-gain some of the lost weight are unable to lose it again. The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Studying successful "losers"

Researchers studied 2,400 people involved in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), an ongoing study of people who have lost at least 30 pounds (13.5 kg) and have kept it off for at least a year. They set out to determine how often people who regained some of their lost weight were able re-lose it, and to study what factors were involved in this ability.

The participants reported their weight three times for this study: (1) at baseline - when they first entered the study - having already lost their initial weight; (2) one year later; and (3) two years later.

Re-gains difficult to lose

Most of the participants avoided large re-gains, but many experienced small re-gains and only a few were able to lose what they had re-gained. Of those who gained any weight between baseline and year 1, only 11% were able to lose that weight by year 2.

More than a quarter of the participants (25.5%) encountered what the researchers defined as a "relapse"; that is, they re-gained at least 5% of what they had lost. Of these "relapsers", less than 5% returned to their baseline weight by year 2.

What are potential barriers to maintaining weight loss?

The results of this study don't explain exactly why some people are successful at completely maintaining weight loss while others experience relapses. One factor the researchers did associate with re-gain, however, was depression. Further research is necessary to examine the relationship between depression and weight re-gain.

The researchers also say that further research is necessary to identify "ways to prevent minor lapses from turning into relapses." In the meantime, most experts agree that the weight loss strategies that are most likely to result in long-term weight loss maintenance are those that you can continue for life - that is, healthful eating and exercise habits, rather than "quick-fix" fad diets.

Source

• Recovery from relapse among successful weight maintainers. S. Phelan, JO. Hill, W. Lang,  et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 2003, vol. 78, pp. 1079--1084

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Weighing Your Longevity Part IV: Losing Weight Safely
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