Regular self-weighing to promote weight maintenance after intentional weight loss: a quasi-randomized controlled trial
Madigan CD.
© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. 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.