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Relationship of a large weight loss to long-term weight change among young and middle-aged US women

International Journal of Obesity volume 25, pages 1113–1121 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of clinically significant weight loss among women and whether this is associated with smaller long-term weight gains.

DESIGN: Six-year follow-up of young and middle-aged women in the Nurses' Health Study II.

SUBJECTS: A total of 47 515 women who did not report a pregnancy, or a diagnosis of cancer or cardiovascular disease any time between 1989 and 1995.

MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported weights in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995, dietary intake, physical activity, inactivity, history of weight cycling and smoking.

RESULTS: Between 1989 and 1991, 9% of the women lost ≥5% of their 1989 weight (6% lost 5–9.9% and 3% lost ≥10%). The proportion who lost ≥10% of their weight increased with category of body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) from 0.4% among women with a BMI <22 to 9% among women with a BMI ≥30 in 1989. Women who lost ≥5% of their weight between 1989 and 1991 gained more weight between 1991 and 1995 than their peers and the difference increased across categories of BMI in 1989. However, due to their large weight losses, women who lost ≥5% of their weight between 1989 and 1991 overall gained less weight than their peers between 1989 and 1995 (P<0.001). Moreover, women who engaged in 5 or more hours per week of vigorous physical activity gained approximately 0.5 kg less than their inactive peers (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Although most women who lost a clinically significant amount of weight regained most of it, they gained less weight over the entire 6 y period than their peers.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Field was partially supported by the Boston Obesity Nutrition Research Center (DK 42600). Additional funding was provided by a research grant (CA50385-09) from the National Institutes of Health, a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (S040-11/15), and a First Independent Research Support and Training Award (R29) grant (HL57871-01) from the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    AE Field, JE Manson & WC Willett

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    RR Wing

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    RR Wing

  4. Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    JE Manson

  5. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    JE Manson, DL Spiegelman & WC Willett

  6. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    DL Spiegelman

  7. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    WC Willett

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  1. AE Field
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Correspondence to AE Field.

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Field, A., Wing, R., Manson, J. et al. Relationship of a large weight loss to long-term weight change among young and middle-aged US women. Int J Obes 25, 1113–1121 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801643

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Keywords

  • weight loss
  • weight regain
  • women
  • diet
  • physical activity
  • inactivity

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