Regular self-weighing to promote weight maintenance after intentional weight loss: A quasi-randomized controlled trial
Madigan CD., Aveyard P., Jolly K., Denley J., Lewis A., Daley AJ.
Background Many overweight people take action to lose weight but most regain this weight. Purpose To examine the effectiveness of a weight maintenance intervention focused on regular self-weighing after receiving a 12-week weight loss programme. Methods Quasi-randomized controlled trial of 3768 obese or overweight men and women. The intervention group (n = 3290) received two telephone calls, the offer of free weighing scales, encouragement to weigh themselves weekly and record this on a card. The main outcome was change in weight between 3 and 12 months. Results Using intention to treat analysis both groups regained weight; however, the intervention group on average regained 1.23 kg, whereas the control group regained 1.83 kg. Adjusting for covariates resulted in a mean difference of 0.68 kg (95% CI 0.12, 1.24) at 12-month follow-up. Conclusions Encouraging people who have recently lost weight to weigh themselves regularly prevents some weight regain. © 2013 The Author.