science
Rapid Weight Loss Produced Modestly Greater 1-Year Loss Than Gradual Reduction in Norwegian Trial of 284 Adults
Norwegian researchers found participants on a 16-week rapid calorie restriction plan lost more weight at 12 months than those on a slower reduction. Both groups followed the same 36-week maintenance phase afterward.
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Adults with obesity who followed a structured rapid weight loss programme lost more weight after one year than those who reduced calories gradually, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Turkey. Researchers from Norway analysed data from 284 obese adults divided into two groups.
The rapid weight loss group followed a 16-week plan that limited calories to 1,000 for the first eight weeks, 1,300 for weeks nine to 12, and 1,500 for the final four weeks.
The gradual weight loss group was advised to reduce daily intake by 1,000 calories and self-reported consuming approximately 1,400 calories per day. 1 per cent. Both groups then completed an identical 36-week programme designed to prevent weight regain.
5 per cent for the gradual group. The authors stated that participation in a structured rapid weight loss programme resulted in greater weight loss at one year. Lead author Dr Line Kristin Johnson from Vestfold Hospital Trust in Norway said the results challenge the belief that slow and steady weight loss is necessary to prevent regain.
She added that rapid weight loss was not associated with weight regain and that a larger proportion of participants in the rapid group sustained their loss. Dr Marie Spreckley, research programme manager at the University of Cambridge, said the study challenges the longstanding assumption that gradual weight loss is superior for long-term outcomes.
She noted that rapid weight loss, when delivered safely within a structured programme, can be an effective obesity treatment strategy.
The authors wrote that the findings indicate rapid weight loss may represent a more effective method than gradual weight loss for reaching key body weight targets associated with reduced obesity-related health risks, when provided in a controlled and professionally supervised setting. According to the NHS, the average man needs 2,500 calories a day and the average woman needs 2,000.
