Effect of Exercise on 24-Month Weight Loss Maintenance in Overweight Women
Effect of Exercise on 24-Month Weight Loss Maintenance in Overweight Women
Bibliography
Jakicic JM, Marcus BH, Lang W, Janney C. Effect of exercise on 24-month weight loss maintenance in overweight women. Archives of internal medicine. 2008 Jul 28;168(14):1550-9.
Summary
In this article, Jakicic et al. examine the impacts of exercise in maintaining a 24-month weight loss among overweight women. Previous research on the role of exercise in reducing weight indicates that consistent physical activity increases energy expenditure, thus reducing weight. Still, they fail to explain the necessary intensity and exercise duration to maintain long-term weight loss. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect, intensity, and duration of exercise to keep a consistent 24-month weight loss and fitness in overweight women. The researchers conducted a qualitative, descriptive randomized hospital-based weight-loss trial in Miriam hospital and the University of Pittsburgh from Dec 1, 1999, to Jan 31, 2003. They recruited 201 overweight women aged between 21 and 45 years, with body mass index ranging from 27 to 40. The participants were randomly placed into four interventional groups. The researchers used the eating behavior inventory, food frequency questionnaire, self-reported leisure-time physical activity (LPTA) questionnaire, physical activity readiness questionnaire to obtain data regarding the participants eating behavior, energy expenditure, and level of physical activity. In addition, the participants had weekly and monthly meetings and close contact with the investigators through telephone calls. The baseline, 6,12,18, and 24 months measures consisted of participants’ height and weight, LPTA, fitness, energy intake, and weight control eating behaviors. Data analysis was done using SAS statistical software, v 9.1 and SPSS statistical, version 15.0. The researchers found that LPTA increased from 1235 to 1815kcal/week, from baseline to 6th month. Besides, the participants’ fitness increased by 18.3% at the end of the intervention. Moreover, subjects with an LPTA of 275 minutes/week maintained at least 10% weight loss from baseline to the end of the 24 months. Similar to other studies, the findings revealed that low energy intake, increased physical activity, and close contact between interventionists and participants was vital to maintaining consistent 24- month weight loss in obese women. The strength of this study was that the investigators complied with the recommended diet during their intervention. However, limitations such as Self-reported questionnaires and lack of diet comparison were notable. The researchers concluded that maintaining a PA above 275 minutes/week and consuming low-energy foods would help keep a 10% weight loss for 24 months. They recommended that there should be close contact between the interventionists and participants to ensure that a minimum PA of 275 minutes/week is achieved to maintain a long-term weight loss in women.