A commonly held (although controversial) belief is """"""""once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic"""""""". However, in the area of weight control, people appear to have the opposite impression - that successfully reduced obese individuals should be able to maintain their weight loss """"""""by eating and exercising like normal [weight] individuals"""""""". The proposed research will determine whether successfully reduced obese individuals are able to maintain a normal body weight using behaviors similar to normal weight individuals or whether the reduced obese must work harder to maintain their body weight. This comparison is of interest since both groups have apparently managed to control their body weight despite living in an obesogenic environment. The proposed study compares successful long-term weight loss maintainers (n=200), defined as individuals who have reduced from overweight/obese to normal weight and maintained the weight loss for a minimum of 5 years, with normal weight controls (n=200) with no history of obesity. The groups will be compared on their eating and exercise behaviors using tritrac accelerometers and 24-hour recalls to provide a more detailed assessment than used in previous studies of successful weight loss maintainers. We will then compare the two groups on the extent to which they have modified their environment to support these behaviors, their preferences for these behaviors, their motivation for maintaining these behaviors, and their quality of life. Findings from this study will have important implications for understanding whether successful weight loss maintainers can at some point regulate their weight in ways similar to normal weight controls or whether they must always work harder to accomplish this. Such information is important for providing an accurate picture to those individuals seeking to lose weight of what it takes to be a successful weight loss maintainer.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01DK066787-02S2
Application #
7115642
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Kuczmarski, Robert J
Project Start
2004-02-01
Project End
2007-12-31
Budget Start
2005-01-01
Budget End
2005-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$220,766
Indirect Cost
Name
Miriam Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
063902704
City
Providence
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02906
Cornelius, Talea; Gettens, Katelyn; Gorin, Amy A (2016) Dyadic Dynamics in a Randomized Weight Loss Intervention. Ann Behav Med 50:506-15
Alosco, Michael L; Spitznagel, Mary Beth; Cohen, Ronald et al. (2015) Obesity and cognitive dysfunction in heart failure: the role of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and physical fitness. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs 14:334-41
Huang, Yen-Tsung; Maccani, Jennifer Z J; Hawley, Nicola L et al. (2015) Epigenetic patterns in successful weight loss maintainers: a pilot study. Int J Obes (Lond) 39:865-868
Bond, Dale S; Raynor, Hollie A; Phelan, Suzanne et al. (2012) The Relationship between Physical Activity Variety and Objectively Measured Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Levels in Weight Loss Maintainers and Normal-Weight Individuals. J Obes 2012:812414
Sweet, Lawrence H; Hassenstab, Jason J; McCaffery, Jeanne M et al. (2012) Brain response to food stimulation in obese, normal weight, and successful weight loss maintainers. Obesity (Silver Spring) 20:2220-5
Hassenstab, Jason J; Sweet, Lawrence H; Del Parigi, Angelo et al. (2012) Cortical thickness of the cognitive control network in obesity and successful weight loss maintenance: a preliminary MRI study. Psychiatry Res 202:77-9
Raynor, Hollie A (2012) Can limiting dietary variety assist with reducing energy intake and weight loss? Physiol Behav 106:356-61
Raynor, Hollie A; Van Walleghen, Emily L; Bachman, Jessica L et al. (2011) Dietary energy density and successful weight loss maintenance. Eat Behav 12:119-25
Phelan, Suzanne; Hassenstab, Jason; McCaffery, Jeanne M et al. (2011) Cognitive interference from food cues in weight loss maintainers, normal weight, and obese individuals. Obesity (Silver Spring) 19:69-73
Phelan, Suzanne; Bond, Dale S; Lang, Wei et al. (2011) ""Exercise dependence""--a problem or natural result of high activity? Am J Health Behav 35:726-33

Showing the most recent 10 out of 26 publications