The well-known nutritional mantra for years has been, going slow wins, if you want your weight to be maintained soon. Now a fresh clinical trial conducted in Norway disputes this outdated advice. Adults suffering from obesity who fasted within a methodical fast weight losing approach trained by health specialists showed better weight reduction and retention at 1 year against people who experimented gradual solutions. Findings were reported to the European Congress on Obesity.
The study involved 284 obese adults, mostly women. They were randomly allocated to the rapid or slower weight loss groups for 16 weeks. The rapid group was placed on a strictly monitored low caloric diet, which started at around 1000 calories/day and increased as individual results and preferences. The gradual group was placed on a less aggressive reduction of energy intake.
After 16 weeks, both groups went on to a single more long-term maintenance program. The differences proved significant and persisted. In the first 4 months, the rapid group experienced on average a loss of 12.9% of their initial body weight while the gradual group, 8.1%. After one year, the results still showed significant divergence. The rapid group lost on average 14.
4% of their initial body weight versus 10.5% for the gradual group. The rapid group had many more individuals reaching clinically significant cut offs. Almost three times as many individuals who had progressed rapidly achieved a BMI of 27 or less and a greater proportion reached the normalized waist-to-height ratio tied to a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes hypertension heart disease, and osteoarthritis. The lead researcher Dr. Line Kristin Johnson said that the findings challenge the view that slow and steady is always the safest way to prevent regain or health risk. In this highly-controlled environment the faster method yielded more weight loss with no greater rebound, and during the maintenance phase when all women were equally supported both groups lost weight rather than regained.
Nothing in this study advises people to go on a crash diet unaided. Even the fastest program was professionally monitored and planned, then supported through proper maintenance care. An energy deficit is still key to losing weight, no matter how fast you make it, but when that deficit occurs so quickly -and also, when people are given enough evidence that they are making visible progress- it appears (at least initially) to contribute motivation to embark upon the considerable long haul process of change. Findings come at a time when obesity treatment is rapidly changing.
Medications, behavioral treatment and surgery all will be appropriate for different patients. The Norwegian study brings useful evidence that the standard approach of slow weight loss is not per se better than an effective, structured fast. For those who want to make significant weight changes and related health improvements, an intensive fast followed by robust maintenance treatment may be a more successful road.
