The Diet Diary

Another myth busted: A new national survey suggests that many Americans do fairly well at keeping the pounds off!

In an article published in American Journal of Preventive MedicineDr. Edward Weiss reports that of 1,310 U.S. adults who’d lost a substantial amount of weight, the majority managed to keep some weight off. Not necessarily all all the weight– but some.

Now, we’ve all heard that past studies show the opposite: Most dieters regain back all their weight. Well, it turns out that previous studies focused on participants enrolled in clinical weight loss trials. In contrast, Dr. Weiss’ study was a survey of people who lost weight outside of these trials– for example, people who dieted on their own!

Now, of course, some people regained their weight. Want to know the factor that distinguished those who kept weight off? The exercised.