Self-Regulation Key to Weight Loss

Self-regulation is the key to losing weight according to a three-year study of young adults led by Rena Wing, Ph.D., director of the Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. The coordinating center for the trial was Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The study was published online in May 2016, before appearing in the JAMA Internal Medicine.

At the end of the study researchers found that young adults who had been taught self-regulation strategies were more successful than those in the control group in preventing weight gain and 50% fewer had become obese. Young adults were studied because, as an age group, they gain weight faster than any other group—an average of one to two pounds a year.

The study consisted of 599 participants between the ages 18 and 35. Half of the participants had normal weight and half were overweight. Each individual in the study was randomly assigned to one of three groups. The study began in August 2010 and concluded in February 2012.

Group one was taught self-regulation in which participants made small, daily changes to their eating and exercise routine. Group two received the same self-regulation instruction but researchers urged participants to make large changes in their eating and exercise routines. The third group was the control group. Participants in this group received minimal treatment.

Participants in groups one and two weighed themselves daily. Researchers delivered the self-regulation interventions through 10 group sessions during the first four months, and then primarily online. All participants were weighed at the start of the trial, after four months and then annually. The study found that both the large and small changes approaches not only reduced weight gain over a three-year follow-up, but both, especially the large change strategy, led to some weight loss.

“We found both interventions to be effective in significantly reducing average weight gain over the three years of follow-up, but the large changes approach was most effective, ” said Wing.

Participants in the control group gained approximately a half a pound. Those using the small changes approach lost 1.2 pounds and those in the large changes group lost 5.2 pounds. Almost 17% of participants in the control group became obese.

“Until now, we didn’t have clear guidance on what the message and recommendations should be for preventing weight gain, ” said Deborah Tate, Ph.D., professor of health behavior and nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina. “This study showed that frequent weighing and either initial weight loss or daily small changes to diet and activity are useful weight gain prevention approaches.”

Wing added, “This weight gain is a serious health risk, and approaches to prevent or reduce it are urgently needed. These new self-regulation approaches, which can easily and cost effectively be shared to help prevent weight gain in young adults, could have a significant impact on our public health.”