How to maintain weight after shedding the pounds revealed

A new research has revealed that the challenge of long-term weight control, which every individual going through weight loss faces, is because of different genetic, epigenetic and neuro-hormones in the bodies.

A group of obesity experts led by Paul MacLean, PhD, and Rena Wing, PhD at National Institutes of Health Working Group explained personalized weight-loss strategies should be implemented to maintain the weight loss, as effective weight-loss program vary from person to person.

Researchers advised to make use of pharmacological strategies to counter the physiological changes that occur after weight loss, which require adjustments to the drug development process.

Other approaches mentioned in the report were to improve adherence to physical activity programs, intake of foods engineered to maximize palatability and satiation to improve long-term adherence to a lower-calorie diet, following strategies to decrease the perceived reward value of foods and increase impulse control and at last all the technologies and social networking to keep individuals engaged and goal-oriented.

Dr. Wing added that development of more effective approaches to weight-loss maintenance requires the integration of physiological and behavioral perspectives and a more concerted collaboration between basic and clinical researchers.

Dr. MacLean, co-chairman of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) working group said that there are many differences in individuals ranging from genetic to behavioral that lead some to do well on one approach, whereas others do not.

The report, "Innovative Research to Improve Maintenance of Weight Loss" will be published in the January 2015 issue of the journal 'Obesity'.