Secret behind maintaining a healthy weight loss - Science Daily

Weight regain after an initial successful weight loss in people with obesity, constitutes an important and unsolved problem.

Until now, no well-documented study on which treatment method is best for maintaining a healthy weight loss has been available.

By testing four different types of treatment following a diet-induced weight loss, the researchers demonstrate for the first time how it is possible for people with obesity to maintain long-term weight loss, says Professor Signe Torekov at the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

In a randomized clinical trial, the group of researchers has demonstrated a highly effective treatment after a diet-induced weight loss, by combining moderate to vigorous-intensive exercise with appetite-inhibiting obesity medication, an analogue to the appetite-inhibiting hormone GLP-1.

The two groups receiving obesity medication were similarly divided into one group with and one group without an exercise program.

After one year, the group with exercise alone and the group with obesity medication alone maintained the weight loss of 13 kg and health improvements.

The most dramatic improvements occurred in the combination group, which followed the exercise program and received obesity medication.

"It is great news for public health that a significant weight loss can be maintained with exercise for approximately 115 minute per week performed mostly at vigorous-intensity, such as cycling.

With the study, the researchers now hope people with obesity, together with their care provider, can create a useful framework for maintaining the weight loss.

This was just not enough for the placebo group without exercise program, in this group all health benefits gained by weight loss during the eight week program were gone after one year, despite frequent weighing and diet and nutritional counseling based on official guidelines." Torekov says.

According to Signe Torekov, this underscores the importance of participating in a mutual weight maintenance program based on feedback when starting a weight loss programme.