Imagine what you could learn if you asked thousands of weight-loss veterans the secrets to their dieting success. The National Weight Control Registry has done just that.
The registry is a database of more than 2,000 dieters who have lost a minimum of 30 pounds and managed to keep the weight off for at least a year. Participants in the registry answer questions on different areas relating to weight loss and maintenance.
“Our mission in forming the registry was to learn from the successes and help more people to be successful,” says Dr. James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado and one of the registry’s founders. So, what did they learn?
“There is little commonality in how [participants] lose the weight, although most tend to use diet and exercise,” Hill says. “But there is a lot of commonality in how they are managing to keep the weight off.”
Hill says the registry has identified four common factors among those who have managed to maintain their weight loss:
– They are eating low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets. “This is not necessarily the popular way of thinking right now, but we have found that most successful dieters are consuming about 24 percent of their calories from fat,” Hill says.
– They monitor their weight frequently, with about 70 percent weighing themselves at least once a week.
– Almost all eat breakfast everyday. “You rarely see a successful dieter that isn’t a breakfast eater,” says Hill.
– They incorporate at least 50 to 60 minutes of physical activity into their day.
And, for all the SugarBusters, Atkins and Zone diet devotees: “We consciously didn’t ask about brand-name diets,” says Hill. “Most people can lose weight with a fad diet, but they don’t maintain [the loss]. . . . The message that we hear is that it’s hopeless, but the registry shows that you can be successful.”
For more information on the National Weight Control Registry, go to www.uchsc.edu/nutrition/nwcr.htm.
