Research

Energy balance

In post-obese women, long-term weight regain is not predicted by metabolic abnormalities (resting energy expenditure, thermic effect of food, or fuel utilization) but is significantly associated with self-reported physical inactivity.

If you have lost weight and are worried about regaining it, do not assume your metabolism is permanently damaged. This study of post-obese women found that their metabolic rates were normal compared to those who never were obese. Instead, focus on maintaining physical activity levels, as inactivity was the strongest predictor of weight regain.

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Four years later, post-obese women regained a mean of 10.9 kg while control subjects remained lean... Neither energy expenditure nor fuel oxidation correlated with 4-yr weight changes, whereas self-reported physical inactivity was associated with greater weight regain.
R L Weinsier et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1995

Why this rating

Prospective longitudinal study with pair-matched controls and rigorous metabolic measurements, though limited by self-reported activity data and small sample size.

Source

Metabolic predictors of obesity. Contribution of resting energy expenditure, thermic effect of food, and fuel utilization to four-year weight gain of post-obese and never-obese women.

R L Weinsier et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1995

DOI 10.1172/jci117807

cohort · n=48Cited 171×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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