Analysis finds how people keep weight off

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Most people who lose weight by dieting gain it back but an analysis of about 10,000 U.S. adults shows regaining weight may not be inevitable, researchers say.

Graham Thomas of Brown University in Providence, R.I., and co-investigator of the National Weight Control Registry -- of 10,000 people who have lost 30 pounds or more and maintained that loss for a year or more -- said some people lost weight and kept it off for 10 years or more, USA Today reported.

The latest analysis was of 3,000 people -- mostly women -- who weighed an average of 224 pounds and lost an average of 69 pounds but kept off an average of 51 pounds for 10 years or more, Thomas said.

Thomas and colleagues studied the questionnaires the participants completed each year and found they:

-- Kept track of what and how much food they ate, and how many calories they consumed.

-- Ate 1,800 calories/day with less than 30 percent from fat.

-- Did not skip breakfast.

-- Hopped on the scale once a week.

-- Ate out an average of three times a week and ate fast-food less than once a week.

-- Kept to eating similar foods daily.

-- Don't watch 10 hours or more of television a week.

The findings were presented at a meeting at the Obesity Society.