Abstract
BackgroundBody weight (BW) reduction through energy restriction is ineffective at impacting the obesity epidemic. Shifting from an obesity treatment to weight gain prevention focus may be more effective in decreasing the burden of adult obesity.MethodsThis was a 1-year randomized controlled trial of weight gain prevention in healthy premenopausal women, aged 18–45 y, with a body mass index (BMI) of >18.5 kg/m2. Eighty-seven women were randomized to a weight gain prevention intervention delivered by a registered dietitian (RDG) or counselor (CSG), or to a control (CON) group. Eighty-one women (mean ± SD, age: 31.4 ± 8.1 y; BW: 76.1 ± 19.0 kg; BMI: 27.9 ± 6.8 kg/m2) completed baseline testing and were included in intention-to-treat analyses; anthropometric, blood pressure, dietary intake and physical activity measurements and biochemical markers of health were measured every three months. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANCOVA, with significance at P < 0.01.ResultsSixty-two percent of women met the weight gain prevention criteria (BW change within ±3 %) after one year; this did not differ by group assignment. Body fat % was lower in the RDG versus CSG and CON groups at all intervals (P < 0.001). Systolic blood pressure increased from month 6 to 9 and decreased from month 6 to 12 in the CON group (P < 0.001), with a significant group x time interaction (P < 0.01). Estimated carbohydrate intake (%) was higher in the RDG vs. CON group at month 9 (P < 0.01); fat intake (%) was lower in the RDG vs. CON group and CSG vs. CON group at months 3 and 9, respectively (P < 0.01). Estimated fruit intake (svgs/d) was higher in the RDG vs. CON group at months 3, 6, 9 and 12 (P < 0.01), and non-meat protein sources (svgs/d) was higher in the RDG vs. CSG and CON groups at month 3 (P < 0.001). Estimated energy, macronutrient and food group intakes did not change over time.ConclusionsA majority of all participants maintained BW over one year and were able to do so regardless of whether they received nutrition education. Additional studies that include a variety of clinical outcomes are needed to evaluate further aspects of nutrition education on weight gain prevention and health status over the long term.
Highlights
Body weight (BW) reduction through energy restriction is ineffective at impacting the obesity epidemic
As determinants of weight gain prevention may differ between men and women [3, 36,37,38], the current study aimed to examine weight gain prevention in premenopausal women participating in a 1-year randomized controlled trial of weight gain prevention that included nutrition education
Women were eligible to participate if they met age and body mass index (BMI) criteria and desired to prevent weight gain
Summary
Body weight (BW) reduction through energy restriction is ineffective at impacting the obesity epidemic. Shifting from an obesity treatment to weight gain prevention focus may be more effective in decreasing the burden of adult obesity. Energy restriction and other methods to induce body weight (BW) reduction are popular and widely promoted [2, 3]. While a variety of approaches result in short-term weight loss success [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11], none of these methods have significantly impacted the obesity epidemic by permanently reducing BW over the long term for a significant amount of people [2, 4, 12,13,14,15,16]. New prevention or treatment efforts and solutions to reduce the burden of adult obesity are necessary
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