Energy balance
Maintaining a body weight 10% or more below one's usual set point triggers a compensatory reduction in total energy expenditure (approx. 6 kcal/kg fat-free mass/day in non-obese, 8 kcal/kg/day in obese), creating a metabolic barrier to long-term weight maintenance.
If you lose 10% or more of your body weight, your body will automatically burn fewer calories per day (by about 6-8 kcal per kg of lean mass). To maintain this new weight, you must eat fewer calories than you did at your previous weight. Failing to reduce your food intake to match this new metabolic rate will result in weight regain.
Maintenance of a body weight at a level 10 percent or more below the initial weight was associated with a mean (SD) reduction in total energy expenditure of 6 (SD) kcal per kilogram of fat-free mass per day in the subjects who had never been obese (P<0.001) and 8 (SD) kcal per kilogram per day in the obese subjects (P<0.001).
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with rigorous metabolic ward conditions, repeated measures, and statistical significance (P<0.001).
Source
Changes in Energy Expenditure Resulting from Altered Body Weight
Rudolph L. Leibel et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 1995
DOI 10.1056/nejm199503093321001
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