Research

Energy balance

The holiday season (late November to mid-January) causes significant weight gain in adults, with gains of 0.4 to 0.9 kg that are rarely lost subsequently.

Expect to gain 0.4-0.9 kg during the holidays. This gain is rarely lost later. To prevent this, use self-monitoring strategies like daily weighing or regular check-ins, as these have been shown to mitigate weight gain during this period.

ModerateSupportsHIGH confidence
In studies of adults, a significant weight gain was consistently observed during this period (0.4 to 0.9 kg, p < 0.05)... The weight gained during the holiday period was not subsequently lost... and represents more than 50% of the weight gained throughout the year.
Rolando Giovanni Díaz-Zavala et al. · Journal of Obesity · 2017

Why this rating

Based on a narrative review of multiple observational and intervention studies; quality varies by study but the trend is consistent.

Source

Effect of the Holiday Season on Weight Gain: A Narrative Review

Rolando Giovanni Díaz-Zavala et al. · Journal of Obesity · 2017

DOI 10.1155/2017/2085136

narrative_reviewCited 74×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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 →