The opinion of these American experts is very clear-cut on the issue: far from worrying about the risk that weight will become, for certain overweight or obese patients, an obsession, their recommendation is clear, daily weighing is perhaps the key. to lose weight or maintain weight. Findings presented at the American Heart Association Meeting based on review of data from more than 1,000 participants.
According to these authors from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and the University of California, San Francisco, daily weighing is a basic measure to be able to achieve a weight loss goal. People who don't weigh themselves at all or rarely are likely to lose less weight than those who weigh themselves often or at least regularly.
1,000 adults more or less on the scale: Researchers examined the weighing habits of 1,042 adults, 78% male, with an average age of 47, and looked for differences in weight change in these habits over time of 12 months. Self-weighing data was transmitted remotely as part of the Health eHeart “electronic” cohort study. The participants weighed themselves at home as they normally did until then, without any intervention, advice or prompting for weight loss from the researchers. They observe different types of behavior, from daily or almost daily weighing to the total absence of weight control. Their analysis finds that:
- people who never weigh themselves or only weigh themselves once a week do not lose weight over the next year;
- on the other hand, participants who weighed themselves 6 to 7 times per week lost weight or 1.7% of their body weight in 12 months and this outside of any deliberate weight loss regimen.
The study did not focus on people who were overweight. But she suggests that, generally speaking, regular body weight tracking can educate everyone about good behaviors and a healthy lifestyle that are conducive to maintaining a healthy weight.
More broadly, and beyond the measurement of body weight, these results confirm the central role of self-monitoring of one's behaviors and health outcomes.
