If You Are Obese And Don't Even Try To Eat Healthy Why Should I Have To Pay For Your Medical Care?

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110. Biggest loser study: why is it so hard to keep weight off?

It's well known among obesity experts that when people lose weight, their resting metabolic rate slows, meaning they burn fewer calories while at rest. Their rate is often slower than it would be compared to other people of the same size who hadn't lost a lot of weight.

"The phenomenon is called 'metabolic adaptation' or 'adaptive thermogenesis,' and it acts to counter weight loss and is thought to contribute to weight regain," wrote the authors, researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, Maryland.

To learn more, using blood, urine and other tests, they calculated the resting metabolic rate and body composition changes in Season 8 contestants six years after the end of the weight loss competition. The study found that only one of the 14 contestants succeeded in maintaining their slimmer weight. The rest regained a significant amount of the weight lost during the competition, and their resting metabolic rates (RMR) remained unusually low.

In fact, the authors wrote, "Despite substantial weight regain in the 6 years following participation in 'The Biggest Loser,' RMR remained suppressed at the same average level as at the end of the weight loss competition." That meant that in order to avoid gaining weight, they would have to consume an average of 500 fewer calories per day than other people their size.


The researchers say this is the first study to evaluate people who've been obese and then lost weight through intensive diet and exercise over so many years. And obesity experts said it supports previous research and what they've seen in their patient populations -- that it's really hard for people who've been obese and then lose a lot of weight to maintain their lower weight, or to lose weight again after they've buoyed back up to a higher weight.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/biggest-loser-study-why-staying-slim-is-so-hard/