It has long been repeated that fast weight loss is of lesser health
value than slow weight loss. "A pound or so per week". Recently, the
Doctors Eades shifted to a rapid weight loss approach in their book "The
Six Week Cure for the Middle Aged Middle".

The study below freshly questions the long repeated dogma of slow weight
loss. The study is focused on the weight loss of the obese, and
concludes that the key to short term maximum weight loss is to
initially lose weight fast. 262 female humans and no rats or mice formed
the basis of the study

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Science News
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100506092735.htm

Shape Up the Quick Way: Lose Weight Fast for Lasting Results Suggests
New Study

ScienceDaily (May 6, 2010) — If you thought the best way to lose and
maintain weight was the slow and steady approach, think again. A new
study by Lisa Nackers and colleagues, from the University of Florida in
the US, suggests that the key to long-term weight loss and maintenance
is to lose weight quickly, not gradually, in the initial stages of
obesity treatment. Their findings are published online in Springer's
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Successful weight loss in obese individuals is defined as a reduction of
10 percent or more of initial body weight maintained for at least a
year. The jury is still out, however, as to whether fast or slow initial
weight loss is the best approach for long-term weight control in obese
patients. On the one hand, there is evidence that losing weight slowly
initially results in continued weight loss, reduced risk of weight
regain, and successful long-term weight loss maintenance. On the other
hand, it has also been shown that the greater the initial weight loss in
obese patients, the larger the total weight loss observed longer term.

Nackers and team's study examines the association between rate of
initial weight loss and long-term maintenance of lost weight, by looking
specifically at whether losing weight at a slow initial rate results in
larger long-term weight reduction and less weight regain than losing
weight at a fast initial rate.

The authors analyzed data for 262 middle-aged obese women who took part
in the Treatment of Obesity in Underserved Rural Settings (TOURS) trial.
These women followed a six-month lifestyle program encouraging them to
reduce their calorie intake and increase their moderate intensity
physical activity to achieve an average weight loss of 0.45kg per week.
They were then supported for a further year with an extended care
program involving contact twice a month in the form of group sessions,
telephone contact or newsletters.

Nackers and team split the women into three groups according to how much
weight they lost in the first month of the intervention. Women in the
FAST group lost over 0.68kg per week; those in the MODERATE group lost
between 0.23 and 0.68kg per week; women in the SLOW group lost less than
0.23kg per week in that first month. The authors then looked at the
womens' weight loss at 6 and 18 months, as well as any weight regain.

They found that there were long-term advantages to fast initial weight
loss. Fast weight losers lost more weight overall, maintained their
weight loss for longer and were not more likely to put weight back on
than the more gradual weight losers. In particular, women in the FAST
group were five times more likely to achieve the clinically significant
10 percent weight loss at 18 months than those in the SLOW group and
those in the MODERATE group were nearly three times more likely to
achieve this milestone than women in the SLOW group.

The authors conclude: "Our study provides further evidence that, within
the context of lifestyle treatment, losing weight at a fast initial rate
leads to greater short-term weight reductions, does not result in
increased susceptibility to weight regain, and is associated with larger
weight losses and overall long-term success in weight management. We
suggest that, within lifestyle weight control programs, substantial
efforts should be focused on promoting large rather than small
behavioral changes during the initial weeks of treatment."

Story Source:

    Adapted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media,
via AlphaGalileo.

Journal Reference:

   1. Lisa M. Nackers, Kathryn M. Ross, Michael G. Perri. The
Association Between Rate of Initial Weight Loss and Long-Term Success in
Obesity Treatment: Does Slow and Steady Win the Race? International
Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2010; DOI: 10.1007/s12529-010-9092-y

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12529-010-9092-y