Oct. 29, 2009
CONTACT: Professor Suzanne Phelan
Phone: 805-756-2087 sphelan@calpoly.edu
What Helps Keep the Weight Off?
Cal Poly Kinesiology Professor's Study Finds Out
Professor Phelan
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly Kinesiology Professor Suzanne Phelan teamed up with professors from other universities to find the difference between obese dieters who can't lose weight, and successful dieters who lose weight and keep it off.
The study results are published in the October edition of The Annals of Behavioral Medicine. It's officially titled, "What Distinguishes Weight-Loss Maintainers from the Treatment-Seeking Obese? Analysis of Environmental, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Variables in Diverse Populations."
The study is making headlines around the world: European news agency Reuters covered it, along with ABC News and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. (See links below.) The full study can be found online the journal's web site at www.springerlink.com, and is available to non-subscribers via the campus Kennedy Library computers.
So how do people who lose a lot of weight and keep it off at least five years do it?
“The home environment really came out as a stronger factor than we would have anticipated,” said lead study author Phelan in interviews with ABC News and Reuters.
According to the study, they do double or triple the amount of exercise than obese people, are more likely to have exercise equipment, and have fewer TVs in their homes, and their kitchens contain more low-fat foods including fruits and vegetables than high-fat foods. They also practice what the researchers called "dietary restraint."
Phelan and colleagues looked at data on more than 167 people from different parts of the United States and who had succeeded in losing 10 percent or more of their body weight, including keeping it off for five or more years. They also looked at two control groups.
Read the Reuters story on ABCNews.com | Read the story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution
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