Search Weight Loss Topics:




Mar 7

Eating in social settings may be greatest temptation for dieters – Medical Xpress

Long Term Weight Loss Comments Off on Eating in social settings may be greatest temptation for dieters – Medical Xpress

March 7, 2017

For people trying to lose weight or maintain a lower body weight, the temptation to overeat is stronger when eating in a social setting, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention / Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health 2017 Scientific Sessions.

The 12-month study of 150 people (90 percent women) used smartphones and a custom-developed application to capture data as dieters moved through everyday life. The participants were trying to limit calories to a specific number per day. In response to questions, the dieters reported their surroundings, what they were feeling and whether they were tempted to break or broke their eating plan. Temptations were defined as eating a food or amount of a food inconsistent with a weight loss eating plan, for example, having a large serving of a calorie-dense food such as French fries or cheesecake or several pieces of candy at the office.

Researchers found:

One challenge many people who have lost weight face is maintaining the weight loss. "Research into understanding and preventing weight regain is vital for improving the public health. Helping an individual anticipate challenges and problem-solve high-risk situations can empower them to stay on track with their weight loss/weight maintenance plan," said Lora E. Burke, Ph.D., M.P.H., study lead author and professor of nursing in the Department of Health & Community Systems at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

These findings can guide experts in providing extra support to individuals who are overweight or obese and struggling to lose or keep off weight, Burke said.

Researchers can also use the data to develop support that can be delivered electronically to dieters in real-time, right when they need it, she added.

Participants' average body-mass index (BMI) was 34.0for instance, a 5-foot-4 woman weighing about 200 pounds, or a 5-foot-9 man weighing 230. In the U.S., more than one-third of adults have a BMI of 30 or more, the level considered obese.

During the study, women weighing less than 200 pounds were given a daily diet target of 1,200 calories, and men at that weight had a target of 1,500 calories. For men and women weighing more than 200 pounds, the goal for women 1,500 calories and 1,800 for men. Dieters aimed to limit fat to about 25 percent of total calories, Burke said.

The technique deployed to survey the dieters, called ecological momentary assessment (EMA), has been used to study topics including addiction, pain, work stress and asthma, EMA is a method of assessing people's emotions and behaviors in real-time and in their natural settings, Burke said, noting that the new study was longer than previous ones done using EMA.

"We know that our interventions lead to successful weight loss. However, our biggest challenge today is long-term maintenance of the weight loss, which requires sustained behavior change," she said.

Explore further: A maintenance program key to keeping off lost weight

A weight loss program that incorporates a maintenance intervention could help participants be more successful at keeping off pounds long term. Researchers found that a primarily telephone-based intervention focused on providing ...

Stepping on the scale is common among dieters but how does the frequency of weigh-ins impact weight? A new study in PLOS ONE showed that the more frequently dieters weighed themselves the more weight they lost, and if participants ...

Analysis of a trial that used the drug canagliflozin found that as people lost weight, their appetite increased proportionately, leading to consumption of more calories and weight loss plateau (leveling off). The findings ...

Dieters sometimes consume extra protein to stave off hunger and prevent loss of muscle tissue that often comes with weight loss.

Being accountable to another person and receiving social support may be vital in motivating some women to lose weight and keep it off, a new study says.

Sticking to a diet is essential to losing weight. So it might follow that letting would-be dieters choose a weight-loss program that seems relatively tasty and palatable would help them lose weight.

People's political leanings and their own weight shape opinions on obesity-related public policies, according to a new study by two University of Kansas researchers.

A new study shows further evidence for the view that spending too much time sitting down is bad for our health and our waistline.

Strong evidence supports the association between obesity and some major types of cancer, consisting mainly of those related to digestive organs and hormone-related malignancies, reveals a large review published by The BMJ ...

A type of herpes virus that infects about half of the U.S. population has been associated with risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease in normal-weight women aged 20 to 49, according to a new UC San Francisco-led ...

Obesity is associated with reduced muscle mass and impaired metabolism. Epigenetic changes that affect the formation of new muscle cells may be a contributing factor, according to new research from Lund University, Sweden.

Around 35-40 per cent of a child's BMI - how fat or thin they are - is inherited from their parents, a new study has found.

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Originally posted here:
Eating in social settings may be greatest temptation for dieters - Medical Xpress

Related Posts

    Your Full Name

    Your Email

    Your Phone Number

    Select your age (30+ only)

    Select Your US State

    Program Choice

    Confirm over 30 years old

    Yes

    Confirm that you resident in USA

    Yes

    This is a Serious Inquiry

    Yes

    Message:



    matomo tracker