Greater Weight Loss Linked To Reduced Chances Of Weight Cycling.

reports on a study that examined the electronic health records of 177,000 obese people over the course of five years to identify patterns of weight change. The researchers found that the participants who lost the greatest amount of weight early on were the most likely to avoid weight cycling, “the repeated loss and regain of body weight.” Indeed, “Weight cycling affected 58 percent of the high weight loss group, compared with 71.5 percent of the modest weight loss group and 74 percent of the moderate group, the investigators found.” Lead study author Joanna Huang, in a news release from the Endocrine Society, stated, “About two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and the economic and health burdens of the obesity epidemic are substantial. Achieving and maintaining weight loss has proven to be difficult.” The results of the study “were scheduled to be presented on Friday at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Boston.” http://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/dieting-to-gain-or-maintain-weight-192/weight-cycling-common-among-those-trying-to-lose-extra-pounds-709484.html