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Successful dieters were able to keep the pounds off in the first six months of a randomized controlled trial focused on weight maintenance after weight loss. Preliminary results from the ongoing Study to Prevent Regain (STOP Regain) show that 26.5% of participants who received face-to-face counseling regained 5 lb or more during this period. A slightly larger proportion, 31.6%, of participants coached via the Internet regained this much. The poorest results were in the control group that only received a quarterly newsletter. At six months, 41.8% had crossed the 5-lb threshold.
The same pattern held true when researchers totaled average pounds gained. Even though they were no longer dieting, the face-to-face counseling cohort lost a slight amount of weight — 0.1 lb on average. The Internet group also did well, gaining back only 2.6 lb. The control group gained the most, an average of 3.2 lbs.
Principal investigator Rena Wing, PhD, from Brown University Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, concluded that the face-to-face counseling and Internet approaches were successful in the short term, but that longer follow-up was needed to determine whether participants are able to stick with the two approaches.
One lesson that can be drawn from the study, she said, is that without treatment 40% or more of dieters will regain 5 lb or more of the weight they lost.
Dr. Wing emphasized that STOP Regain was designed as a maintenance program and focused on strategies for preventing weight gain rather than dieting. For example, participants were encouraged to weigh themselves daily — the face-to-face group was most compliant — and to report results.
Face-to-face counseling and Internet participants who stayed within 2 lb of their postdiet weight were put in a "green zone," where they received encouragement and monthly rewards. "Money was one of the more popular green gifts," Dr. Wing joked.
If someone gained 3 to 4 lb, the person was assigned to a cautionary yellow zone. A weight gain of 5 lb or more triggered a red zone in which the participant was encouraged to resume dieting. At this point, support included one-on-one counseling and an emergency toolbox of pedometers, calorie-counting books, and other aids.
Participants were highly motivated upon entering the program, having lost an average of 44 lb — about 20% of their body weight — in a variety of ways. The most common methods were Weight Watchers, their own diets, or Slim Fast or another meal replacement.
NAASO 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting: Abstract 96-OR. Presented Nov. 17, 2004.
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Dietary patterns, meat intake, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Positive associations were also observed between type 2 diabetes and red meat and other processed meats. The Western dietary pattern, especially a diet higher in processed meats, may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. The relative risk for diabetes for every 1-serving increase in intake is 1.26 for red meat, 1.38 for total processed meats, 1.73 for bacon, 1.49 for hot dogs, and 1.43 for processed meats. Archives of Internal Medicine, November 8, 2004; 164(20): 2235-40.