Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017:2017:4956326.
doi: 10.1155/2017/4956326. Epub 2017 Sep 19.

Three-Year Follow-Up of Participants from a Self-Weighing Randomized Controlled Trial

Lua Wilkinson  1 , Carly R Pacanowski  2 , David Levitsky  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Three-Year Follow-Up of Participants from a Self-Weighing Randomized Controlled Trial

Lua Wilkinson et al. J Obes. 2017.

Abstract

Frequent self-weighing is associated with weight loss maintenance. Several years ago, we investigated frequent self-weighing's effect on weight loss and found the participants lost a significant amount of weight. Three years after this trial's end, participants were contacted for an update on their weight and self-weighing frequency. Weight change and self-weighing frequency since the end of the study were assessed. We hypothesized that participants who maintained frequent self-weighing behavior would have maintained their weight loss. Out of 98 participants enrolled in the RCT, 37% (n = 36) participated in this follow-up study. Total weight loss during the trial for the follow-up participants was 12.7 ± 19.4 lbs (p < 0.001). Three years after intervention, participants regained 0.9 ± 4.34 lbs, a value that was not statistically different from zero (p = 0.75). This did not differ by gender (p = 0.655). Over 75% of these participants continued to weigh themselves at least once a week. Frequent self-weighing may be an effective, low-cost strategy for weight loss maintenance. Future research should further investigate the role of self-weighing in long-term weight gain prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of study design.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Weight change during the CTM trial.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Weight change between baseline and follow-up.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Weight change between baseline and follow-up by gender.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Individual weight changes.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Weight change between end and follow-up.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Weight change from the end of the study to follow-up as a function of how often the participant weighs themselves.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Percentage weight change as a function of weighing oneself weekly or more compared to weekly or less.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Prochaska J. J., Prochaska J. O. A review of multiple health behavior change interventions for primary prevention. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2011;5(3):208–221. doi: 10.1177/1559827610391883. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Levitsky D. A., Pacanowski C. R. Free will and the obesity epidemic. Public Health Nutrition. 2011;15(1):126–141. doi: 10.1017/S1368980011002187. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wing R. R., Goldstein M. G., Acton K. J., et al. Behavioral science research in diabetes: lifestyle changes related to obesity, eating behavior, and physical activity. Diabetes Care. 2001;24(1):117–123. doi: 10.2337/diacare.24.1.117. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Christiansen T., Bruun J. M., Madsen E. L., Richelsen B. Weight loss maintenance in severely obese adults after an intensive lifestyle intervention: 2- to 4-year follow-up. Obesity. 2007;15(2):413–420. doi: 10.1038/oby.2007.530. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brownell K. D., Jeffery R. W. Improving long-term weight loss: pushing the limits of treatment. Behavior Therapy. 1987;18(4):353–374. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7894(87)80004-7. - DOI

Publication types