Many overweight people who lose a large number of pounds keep them off for at least a decade, a new study says.
Researchers looked at 3,000 dieters who have been in the National Weight Control Registry for more than 10 years. The registry includes 10,000 people who have lost 30 pounds or more and have kept the weight off for a year or more, USA Today reported.
The 3,000 people in the study weighed an average of 224 pounds before their weight loss and shed an average of 69 pounds. They maintained an average loss of 52 pounds after five years and an average loss of 51 pounds after 10 years.
The study was presented at an Obesity Society meeting.
While some gradual weight gain over time is normal, this study shows that it's possible to maintain a substantial weight loss for at least 10 years, said registry co-investigator Graham Thomas, an assistant professor at Brown University, USA Today reported.
According to a report in USAToday:
Registry members usually:
- Track their food intake.
- Count calorie or fat grams or use a commercial weight-loss program to track food intake.
- Follow a low-calorie, low-fat diet. They take in about 1,800 calories a day and less than 30% of calories from fat.
- Eat breakfast regularly.
- Limit the amount they eat out. They dine out an average of three times a week and eat fast food less than once a week.
- Eat similar foods regularly and don't splurge much on holidays and special occasions.
- Walk about an hour a day or burn the same calories with other activities.
- Watch fewer than 10 hours of TV a week.
- Weigh themselves at least once a week.
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