Successful Program for Weight Loss Maintenance

The numbers don’t lie: most successful dieters regain their lost weight. But hope exists in new research, which shows that daily weighing can significantly help dieters maintain weight loss, if followed by curbing calories and increasing exercise when the scale numbers rise too high.

The study, conducted by Rena Wing, PhD, and colleagues at The Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical School, reports the results of the first program designed exclusively for weight loss maintenance. The study is unique among obesity studies, because of its focus on preventing lost pounds from returning, instead of primary weight loss. The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The program, a clinical trial named STOP Regain, lasted 18 months. The goal was for all 314 participants to maintain their weight within five pounds, regardless of the method they used to lose the weight initially. Eligible participants had to have lost at least 10 percent of their body weight, but averaged nearly 20 percent or 42 pounds, within the last two years.

To achieve the weight maintenance goal, participants were taught a technique called “self-regulation.” They learned, either in face-to-face meetings or through the Internet, to weigh themselves daily and use that information to determine if their diet or exercise routines needed adjustment.

“Self-regulation” worked: Significantly fewer participants regained five or more pounds during the program. The face-to-face meetings produced the best results; however, intervention through the Internet also worked well. 

“If you want to keep lost pounds off, daily weighing is critical,” says Rena Wing, PhD, leader of the program, and director of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at the Miriam Hospital and professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School. “But stepping on the scale isn’t enough. You have to use that information to change your behavior, whether that means eating less to walking more. Paying attention to weight – and taking quick action if it creeps up – seems to be the secret to success.”

This study is one of many research programs conducted at the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center. These programs are offered free of charge to individuals who qualify. The center is currently conducting programs for overweight individuals ages 21 to 65, for overweight children ages 4 to 9 and for overweight couples who both want to lose weight. The center also has been studying individuals who have been successful at losing weight and keeping it off. To learn more about these programs and see if you qualify, please call 401-793-8940. 

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