Keeping the Fat Off

It is estimated that there is about 66 percent of either overweight or obese adults living in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With that astronomical number you would think that weight loss and its maintenance is impossible. On the other hand, a new government study suggests that keeping off the weight that you have lost is indeed possible, although it is not always simple or easy.

If you want to effectively lose weight and be able to maintain it, can you just take natural weight loss supplements or the long road of diet and exercise? According to Dr. Edward Weiss, a medical epidemiologist in the CDC, they are still in the process of learning about the habits needed for long-term maintenance of weight. In their recent study, almost six in ten people who were able to lose weight have also kept it off for a year. And 7.6 percent of those people kept on losing weight. Weiss admitted though, that this study does have some limitations. He said that there might be some participants who have lost the weight unintentionally. And the researchers do not really know how the participants were able to lose weight, if it was on their own or through an organized program.

Weiss’ team looked at the 1999 to 2002 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included 1,310 adults who are between the ages of 20 to 84, and all were overweight or obese. Before they were surveyed, they have cut down a considerable amount of weight and weighed about ten percent less than their maximum weight a year ago.

The participants were asked to answer questions about lifestyle habits and such. Through this, Weiss and his team discovered that those who have greater daily time spent in front of the television or those who use the computer outside work were more probable to regain weight compared to those who have less screen time. The researchers speculated that the participants who sit in front of the television for hours might have eaten plenty of snacks or those who spent a lot of time using the computer might have displaced time for exercise.

Another discovery was that those who did not meet public health recommendations for physical health have twice as much tendency to regain weight compared to those who have met the recommendations. But Weiss mentioned that it might take less exercise than previously thought to be able to maintain weight loss. The participants who followed moderate exercise guidelines did not have any difference in regained weight compared to the group that followed vigorous guidelines. This proves, however, that exercise is necessary to keep the weight off.

Whatever the findings of this study might be, you should make lifestyle changes that encourage a healthy weight. Continue to eat a balanced diet, get regular exercise and even take natural weight loss supplements in order to maintain a normal and healthy weight.