Keeping the Weight Off

Weight loss and maintenance of weight loss is difficult if not nearly impossible for most people.

A registry of individuals who have lost 30 pounds or more and maintained their weight loss over a year exists in the U.S. This research effort is known as the National Weight Control Registry. It currently has over 10,000.

I was looking at some of the published research results from this study. A paper published in 2012 used cluster analysis to identify sub-types of individuals with successful long-term weight loss.

The study identified four specific sub-types of successful dieters. The varied on a variety of historical, demographic and behavioral variables. However, I was impressed by the amount of exercise the participants documented.

Over 90% of the successful dieters burned an average of 2500 calories in a typical week of physical activity. Although calories burned by exercise varies by weight a typical weekly amount of exercise to burn 2500 calories per week would be:

• Walking 25 miles per week (six plus hours walking per week)
• Running 18 miles per week (three plus hours running per week)

These levels of physical activity are two to three times more than typical recommendations for physical activity in the general population.

This study suggests successful weight loss maintenance is hard work. Unless you are committed to and capable of this level of activity it may be nearly impossible to lose weight and keep the weight off.

Readers with more interest in this study can access the free full-text manuscript by clicking on the PMID link in the citation below.

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Ogden, L., Stroebele, N., Wyatt, H., Catenacci, V., Peters, J., Stuht, J., Wing, R., & Hill, J. (2012). Cluster Analysis of the National Weight Control Registry to Identify Distinct Subgroups Maintaining Successful Weight Loss Obesity, 20 (10), 2039-2047 DOI: 10.1038/oby.2012.79