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Association of weight change, weight control practices, and weight cycling among women in the Nurses' Health Study II

International Journal of Obesity volume 28, pages 1134–1142 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of weight cycling with weight change, weight control practices, and bulimic behaviors.

METHODS: A nested study of 2476 young and middle-aged women in the Nurses' Health Study II who provided information on intentional weight losses between 1989 and 1993.

SAMPLE: In total, 224 women who were severe cyclers, 741 women who were mild cyclers, 967 age- and BMI-matched controls (noncyclers), and 544 women who did not weight cycle and maintained their weight between 1989 and 1993 completed a questionnaire in 2000–2001 assessing recent intentional weight losses, weight control practices, and weight concerns.

RESULTS: After controlling for age and body mass index (BMI) in 1993, when weight cycling was initially assessed, mild cyclers gained an average of 6.7 pounds (lbs) more and severe cyclers gained approximately 10.3 lbs more than noncyclers between 1993 and 2001. Weight cyclers preferred to change their diet rather than to exercise to control their weight. Severe weight cyclers were less likely than noncyclers to use frequent exercise as a weight control strategy (odds ratio [OR]=0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6–1.1). Cyclers were also more likely than noncyclers to engage in binge eating (mild cyclers: OR=1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.4; and severe cyclers: OR=2.5, 95% CI 1.7–3.5). Independent of weight cycling status, age, and BMI, women who engaged in binge eating gained approximately 5 lbs more than their peers (P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Weight cycling was associated with greater weight gain, less physical activity, and a higher prevalence of binge eating. Low levels of activity and binge eating may be partially responsible for the large amount of weight regained by weight cyclers.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Nan Laird for her thoughtful comments and suggestions on the manuscript and Dr Meir Stampfer for his suggestions on items to include on the questionnaire. 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, 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. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Medicine and Department of Psychiatry, Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, USA

    A E Field

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

    A E Field, J E Manson, W C Willett & G A Colditz

  3. Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, USA

    J E Manson

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA

    C B Taylor

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

    W C Willett & G A Colditz

  6. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, USA

    W C Willett

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Correspondence to A E Field.

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Field, A., Manson, J., Taylor, C. et al. Association of weight change, weight control practices, and weight cycling among women in the Nurses' Health Study II. Int J Obes 28, 1134–1142 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802728

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