Research
Energy balance
Increases in physical activity are associated with less long-term weight gain, whereas absolute levels of physical activity are not associated with weight change.
To prevent long-term weight gain, focus on *increasing* your physical activity over time, not just maintaining your current level. The study found that absolute activity levels didn't predict weight change, but increases in activity were associated with less weight gain.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Across quintiles, participants with greater increases in physical activity gained 1.76 fewer pounds within each 4-year period. Absolute levels of physical activity, rather than changes in these levels, were not associated with weight change
Why this rating
Large prospective cohorts, long follow-up, multivariable adjustments.
Source
Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men
Dariush Mozaffarian et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2011
DOI 10.1056/nejmoa1014296
cohort · n=120877Cited 2,525×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Increasing daily servings of potato chips, potatoes, sugar-sweetened beverages, unprocessed red meats, and processed meats is independently associated with greater long-term weight gain, whereas increasing servings of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt is associated with less weight gain.Strong
- Quitting smoking is associated with significant weight gain (5.17 lb over 4 years), while continued smoking is associated with less weight gain (-0.70 lb).Good
- Sleep duration has a U-shaped association with weight gain, with greater weight gain occurring with less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours of sleep per night.Good
Related findings · Energy balance
- Achieving a total body weight loss of 10-15% (or >10-15 kg) through Total Diet Replacement (TDR) induces remission of Type 2 Diabetes in individuals with short-duration disease.Strong
- Bariatric surgery is superior to medical management alone for inducing significant long-term weight loss, remission of type 2 diabetes, and reduction in mortality for patients with BMI ≥ 40 or ≥ 35 with comorbidities.Strong
- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →