Weight loss – hot off the press!

I’ve recently returned from a symposium in London and want to share some of the latest thoughts on managing weight and weight loss.

• For the overweight person – as exercise increases, food intake increases. Exercise prevents weight gain, but may not be so helpful for weight loss
• For those maintaining an ideal body weight people who are more active are better able to manage energy intake and energy expenditure (i.e. kilojoules in versus kilojoules out) compared to those with a sedentary lifestyle
• Food diaries – more detail on a food diary gives an improved weight loss result
• If an adult has less than 7 hours sleep/night they are more likely to be overweight
• More intensive intervention achieves better weight loss results
• Targeting multiple intervention gives better weight loss results – ie food choices, environmental factors, sleep and lifestyle
• The outcome of environmental changes are difficult to assess as they give a small effect at an individual level however reluctance to change the environment does affect the rates of overweight in individuals
• Extreme kilojoule restriction is not recommended for long term weight loss results
• Protein is more satiating than carbohydrate and fat.   Best weight loss results are achieved by incorporating protein with low glycaemic index foods. This results in improved adherence and a lower dropout rate
• People respond differently to the same treatment – thought to be due to varying levels of fat mass and fat free mass (muscle mass)
• The hormone leptin is linked to regulating body size and appetite

Plus just out of interest the first textbook on obesity was published in the 1700’s!