ow often we heard that the best way to lose weight was the slow and steady approach. A new research by Lisa Nackers and colleagues, from the University of Florida, shows that the key to long-term weight loss and maintenance is to lose weight quickly, not slowly, in the initial stages of obesity treatment. Their studies are written and published online in Springer's International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Successful weight loss in obese individuals is outlined as a reduction of 10 percent or more of initial body weight maintained for at least a year. The jury is still out, nevertheless, as to irrespective of whether fast or slow initial weight loss is the best technique for long-term weight control in obese patients. On the one hand, there is evidence that losing weight slowly initially results in continued weight loss, reduced risk of weight regain, and successful long-term weight loss maintenance. On the other hand, it has as well been proven that the greater the initial weight loss, the larger the total weight loss observed longer term.

Nackers and team's study examines the connection between rate of initial weight loss and long-term maintenance of lost weight, by looking specially at whether losing weight at a slow initial rate results in larger long-term weight reduction and less weight regain than losing weight at a fast initial rate.

The authors examined data for 262 middle-aged overweight women who took part in the Treatment of Obesity in Underserved Rural Settings (TOURS) trial. These women followed a six-month lifestyle plan encouraging them to reduce their calorie intake and increase their average intensity physical activity to achieve an typical weight loss of 0.45kg per week. They were then supported for a further year with an extended care plan associating contact twice a month in the form of group sessions, telephone contact or newsletters.

Nackers and team split the women into three groups in respect to how much weight they lost in the first month of the treatment. Women in the FAST group lost over 0.68kg every week; those in the MODERATE group lost between 0.23 and 0.68kg per week; women in the SLOW group lost less than 0.23kg per week in the first month. The creators then looked at the womens' weight loss at 6 and 18 months, as well as any weight regain.

They found out that there were long-term benefits to fast initial weight loss. Fast weight losers lost much more weight overall, maintained their weight loss for longer and were not more likely to put weight back on than the more gradual weight losers. Generally, women in the FAST group were five times more likely to achieve the clinically significant 10% weight loss at 18 months compared to those in the SLOW group and those in the MODERATE group were practically three times more likely to achieve this milestone than women in the SLOW group.

The authors decide on: "Our research gives further evidence that, within the context of lifestyle treatment method, losing weight at a fast initial rate turns to larger short-term weight reductions, does not result in increased susceptibility to weight regain, and is linked with much larger weight losses and over-all long-term success in weight management. We suggest that, within lifestyle weight control programs, substantive efforts should be focused on encouraging large rather than small behavioral adjustments during the initial weeks of treatment."