Research
Energy balance
Higher sitting time (>8 hours/day) and lower habitual physical activity (<150 minutes/week) are independently associated with increased odds of gaining >5 kg over 5 years in midage women.
To prevent significant weight gain, aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week and reduce sitting time to under 3 hours per day. These are modifiable targets that can help counteract the energy imbalance driving weight gain.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Women who reported >4.5 hours sitting a day were more likely to gain >5 kg than those reporting <=3 hours sitting time. For PA, women who reported low, very low, or no PA (i.e., <150 minutes per week) were significantly more likely to gain >5 kg than women in the high PA category (equivalent to >300 minutes of PA a week).
Why this rating
Large cohort, adjusted for confounders, observational.
Source
Identifying the Energy Gap: Magnitude and Determinants of 5‐Year Weight Gain in Midage Women
Wendy J. Brown et al. · Obesity Research · 2005
DOI 10.1038/oby.2005.173
cohort · n=8071Cited 253×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Midage women gain an average of 0.5 kg per year, driven by a daily energy imbalance of approximately 10 kcal, which can be prevented by small, sustained changes in physical activity, sitting time, and energy intake.Good
- Quitting smoking is independently associated with significantly higher odds of gaining >5 kg over 5 years (OR ~2.94) compared to never smokers, even after adjusting for physical activity, sitting time, and energy intake.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 →