Research

Adherence

Combined behavioral interventions targeting both diet and physical activity produce small but statistically significant improvements in long-term weight loss maintenance compared to control conditions.

To maintain weight loss, you cannot rely on initial effort alone. You must engage in ongoing behavioral strategies that combine dietary management and physical activity. Simple diet or exercise alone is not enough for long-term maintenance; a comprehensive behavioral approach is required.

WeakSupportsHIGH confidence
Behavioural interventions covering both diet and physical activity show small but significant benefits on maintenance of weight loss.
Stephan U Dombrowski et al. · BMJ · 2014

Why this rating

Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 2949 participants.

Source

Long term maintenance of weight loss with non-surgical interventions in obese adults: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials

Stephan U Dombrowski et al. · BMJ · 2014

DOI 10.1136/bmj.g2646

Meta-analysis · 25 studiesCited 818×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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