WIN Wyoming and WIN the Rockies

Thought Bullets
for
July 2004 

The National Weight Control Registry has tracked more than 5,000 people to better understand how they maintained weight losses of 30 pounds or more. The Registry is now in its 10^th year and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. The ABC television show Good Morning America recently highlighted some of the findings from the Registry.

• A key finding to successful weight loss maintenance was when individuals started thinking in terms of lifestyle changes with eating and physical activity, and stopped thinking about dieting and exercising to lose weight.
• Dr. Rena Wing, director for the Registry, talked about the endless search for the magic bullet for weight loss. She said, "The magic bullet is hard work. It’s changing your whole lifestyle to a healthier eating and exercise approach. And that’s the only magic bullet we have for long-term weight loss."
• The Registry found that women tended to lose weight in groups, and men tended to lose weight on their own.
• The individuals listed with the Registry lost weight initially in a variety of ways, but there were common themes when it came to maintaining the weight loss. Common themes included decreasing average daily intake of calories and increasing levels of physical activity.
• The preferred form of physical activity was walking, with 75% of the Registry participants listing walking as their main form of physical activity. Participants reported they engaged in large amounts of daily physical activity, with many reporting close to an hour a day.
• Most of the participants in the study ate breakfast daily. Consistency was also key to success. People who did not give themselves days to "cheat" were more successful in maintaining weight loss than those who allowed themselves breaks for weekends or other events.
• Nearly three-quarters of the participants weighed themselves at least once a week. Dr. Wing believes this routine of regularly stepping on a scale allows people to quickly take corrective action when small increases in weight start to appear.

Sources:
Website for the National Weight Control Registry. http://www.lifespan.org/services/bmed/wt_loss/nwcr/ , accessed on June 3, 2004.

Trachtenerg T. Good Morning America, ABC news broadcast, June 2, 2004.

Compiled by Betty Holmes, MS, RD

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