Study by
Dr. Barone Gibbs, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh's dep. of health & physical activity;
Lewis Kuller, M.D., Dr.P.H. , professor emeritus Dep. of Epidemiology,Pittsburgh Public Health;
Laura S. Kinzel, M.S., R.D., University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health;
Kelley Pettee Gabriel, Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston;
and Yue-Fang Chang, Ph.D., School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.
The research
"Researchers studied 465 overweight and obese postmenopausal women previously enrolled in Pitt Public Health’s Women on the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) study and analyzed changes in eating habits and weight loss from the beginning of the study to six and 48 months.
The women were randomly assigned to either a lifestyle-change intervention group or a control group. The women in the intervention group regularly met with nutritionists, exercise physiologists and psychologists, while women in the control group were offered occasional seminars over the study period focusing on general women’s health. Participants in both groups self-reported their eating habitsusing a detailed questionnaire. At the end of the four years of the study, 57 percent of the intervention participants and 29 percent of controls had maintained at least a five-pound weight loss.
Women in both groups who decreased their consumption of desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages experienced a greater weight loss than those who did not in both the short- andlong-term. However, participants who decreased fried foods and eating out, and increased fish consumption had greater weight loss at six months; those who increased their fruit and vegetable intake and decreased intake of meats and cheeses were more likely to be successful at long-term weight loss. Eating out and eating fried food had no apparent effect on long-term weight change."
Seen on theUPMC web
