ABSTRACT
Long-term maintenance of weight loss is one of the most challenging aspects of obesity management. Of 228 overweight United States residents randomly surveyed, only 20.6% reported having intentionally lost at least 10% of their initial weight and kept it off for at least 1 year (Wing and Hill 2001), and a meta-analysis concluded that 4.5 years after completing a structured weight loss program involving a hypocaloric diet with or without exercise, the average weight loss maintained was 3.2% (Anderson et al. 2001). Why is it so difcult to maintain weight loss in the long term? A possible explanation is that physiological changes that accompany diet-induced weight loss may encourage regain of lost weight.
