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28.07.2015

Daily weighing helps slimming and prevents overweight

People's attempts to slim are more successful if they weigh themselves daily, and send the results to supervisors. Although only a small group actually manage to lose substantial amounts by following this method, a modest amount of weight loss is perfectly possible, write health scientists at the University of Minnesota in the Journal of Obesity.

Study
The researchers gave a group of several tens of subjects a weighing scale and asked them to weigh themselves nearly every day. The subjects had to then mail their bodyweight every day to the researchers who then compiled graphs of their weight development and showed these to the subjects. The aim was for the subjects to lose 10 percent of their bodyweight in a year.

If the subjects forgot to mail they were sent a reminder. If the subjects put on weight they were given advice to eat a little less, and for example to eat fewer snacks or to stop eating high-calorie desserts.

The researchers call their weighing-reporting-feedback method the Caloric Titration Method.

A control group was advised to lose weight, but not given any further instructions.

Results
The subjects in the control group lost no weight, but the subjects in the Caloric Titration Method group lost a couple of kilograms on average.

Only 9 percent of the experimental group actually managed to lose 10 percent of their bodyweight. So most subjects did not meet the target, but nevertheless the researchers regard their approach as a success. In their view, even a small weight loss makes obese people healthier.

At the end of the year of the experiment, the subjects in the control group were also given a year of treatment using the Caloric Titration Method.

The treatment also continued for the subjects in the experimental group, but their target changed to maintaining the weight loss they'd achieved.

Conclusion
"This study tested a low-cost and low-intensity intervention that can be disseminated easily through the internet", the researchers wrote. "This type of program would be feasible for healthcare practitioners to carry out with a moderate number of patients, allowing them to allocate their time to those that require more support."

"From the patient's perspective, this would enable one to manage one's own weight while knowing that the process is being overseen. Most importantly, the small weight losses achieved with using the CTM were maintained during the second year of the study."

Source:
J Obes. 2015;2015:763680.

More:
Weighing yourself every day keeps your weight stable 10.01.2013

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