It almost seems that a million-and-one books are published everyday touting the secret to rapid and sustained weight loss. But, how many of these diet schemes have been verified to produce the results they advertise? In the latest JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) issue, a group of academic centers involved in the Weight Loss Maintenance (WLM) initiative published their results from a three-year study comparing strategies for sustaining weight loss. The project is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and includes four clinical centers: Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.
The design of the WLM clinical trial involves two phases. Phase 1 comprises a 6-month period where all participants undergo similar intervention to obtain weight loss. Working closely with a trained interventionist, the group strives to achieve a weekly weight loss goal of 1-2 pounds per week through a combination of strategies, such as caloric reduction, dietary modification, and increased physical activity. After having lost weight in phase 1, participants in the 30-month phase 2 trial are randomly divided into three groups, each with a different level of intervention to encourage maintenance of weight loss: 1) minimal intervention; 2) technology-based intervention, with use of an interactive website which sets personal goals, action plans, and provides an online support community; and 3) personal-contact intervention, involving monthly contact with a weight-loss interventionist.
