UAB Synopsis, Vol. 26, No. 13, April 9, 2007

Maintaining weight loss — the key to weight control — is often as hard as, or harder, than getting pounds off in the first place. Recent outcomes data from UAB’s EatRight programs published in Obesity show the system gives participants the right tools to make permanent changes in their diet and keep weight off over time (2006;14[10]:1795-1801) .

EatRight encourages high consumption of foods with lower calories by volume (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and limits calorie-dense foods such as high-fat meats, cheeses, and fats. The Obesity paper reported that 2 years after completing the 12-week EatRight Lifestyle Program, 78% of participants had regained less than 5% of their body weight, and 46% of those had gained no weight or continued losing weight. The authors, who include Eat- Right Medical Director Jamy D. Ard, MD; the program’s physician nutrition specialist Douglas C. Heimburger MD, MS; and Weight Maintenance Program Director Lori F. Greene, MS, RD, also highlighted several key dietary patterns associated with weight maintenance:

• Relatively small differences in calorie intake separated weight maintainers from weight gainers. Maintainers and those who lost additional weight ate an average of 244 kcal per day less than people who gained weight (1608 kcal vs 1989 kcal).
• Weight maintainers and weight gainers consumed similar volumes of food, but maintainers had a significantly lower energy-density intake than gainers. Maintainers also limited portion sizes of high-density foods — maintainers ate fewer calories for the same volume of food.
• Carbohydrate intake was inversely associated with weight gain during follow-up and authors suggest, “The type of carbohydrate, and not the amount alone, may be more related to body weight and weight maintenance. This inverse relationship [may be] driven by carbohydrate food sources that are high in fiber and water content, increasing food volume without significantly increasing calorie content.”

These recent data are consistent with outcomes research conducted in the early 1990s (J Am Diet Assoc.1991;91[4]:421-426), when the EatRight program was delivered in a different format, Dr. Ard says. “This consistency over time confirms the EatRight approach is scientifically sound and offers the long-term success that fad diets lack.”