The findings represent the first study to determine whether metabolic adaptation at resting metabolic rate (RMR) levels is associated with time to reach weight loss goals.
A new study from the Faculty of Nutrition Science, Birmingham, University of Alabama reveals why overweight women take longer than expected to lose weight because their energy consumption is well below expectations (metabolic adaptation).
Published in Obesity, the flagship journal of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity, the study found that overweight premenopausal women experienced metabolic adaptation after 16% weight loss, and women with greater adaptation until the weight loss goal was achieved. Showed that I had to wait longer.
“Health providers, obesity researchers, obesity patients, and the general public in obesity management need to pay close attention to these new discoveries,” said Catia Martins, associate professor and lead author of the UAB School of Nutrition Science. The doctor says. .. “Delays in achieving weight loss goals, or lower than expected weight loss, are generally considered the direct and sole consequence of reduced compliance with interventions.”
Martins suggests that this study shows that metabolic adaptation during weight loss is important in adjusting the outcome of weight loss and may contribute to some of the individual differences seen in weight loss interventions. Explaining. These findings represent the first study to determine whether metabolic adaptation at resting metabolic rate (RMR) levels is associated with time to reach weight loss goals.
A total of 65 white and black premenopausal females between the ages of 21 and 41 who were overweight were selected for the study. Participants tend to sit down (less than once a week with regular exercise), have normal blood glucose levels, and have a family history of overweight / obesity in at least one first-degree relative, affecting body composition and metabolism. Did not use any medicine to give. All participants were nonsmokers and reported regular menstrual cycles.
Participants included in the retrospective analysis came from two different studies. ROMEO and JULIET at the UAB Faculty of Nutrition Science in the same series of events and methodologies both aim to identify metabolic predictors of weight recovery. In the ROMEO study, all participants achieved weight loss on diet alone, while in the JULIET study, participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: by aerobic exercise training three times a week. Weight loss, weekly and weight loss on a weight loss diet only with 3 aerobic training (same diet as ROMEO).
In this study, researchers included all participants from the ROMEO study, and participants were randomized to diet only from the JULIET study. All participants were provided with an 800 kcal diet until a BMI of 25 kg / m2 or higher was reached. The study was conducted during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle of participants in a fasting state during hospitalization for 4 days after a 4-week weight stabilization period at baseline and after weight loss.
Martins says that arguably the most important determinant of a diet’s success is dietary adherence. However, metabolic adaptation also plays an important role.
“We need to admit that the greater the weight loss, the greater the metabolic adaptation, so over time it can be difficult to lose weight and it can be really difficult to lose the last pound,” Martins said. rice field. “But metabolic adaptation is not a permanent adaptation. It can be significantly reduced or even disappear after a short period of weight stabilization, for example after a few weeks. Therefore, we adhere to an energy-restricted diet. Nonetheless, the good news is for those who are struggling to lose their last pound. If they stabilize their weight for a few weeks, their metabolic adaptation may be diminished or even lost. , They can lose weight again and increase their chances of success. “
Other authors of this study include Dr. Barbara Gauer (Professor and Vice-Chair) of the UAB Faculty of Nutrition Science and Dr. Gary Hunter (Professor Emeritus).
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01 DK049779, P30 DK56336, P60 DK079626 and UL1RR025777.
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