The loss of weight, wasted effort?

How many have regained lost weight after following a letter to the slimming diet? Researchers from Laval University have pinpointed this phenomenon has nothing to do with lack of will, as is generally believed. Angelo Tremblay and Jean-Philippe Chaput, the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, showed that the failure to lose weight increases as a person lose weight because their metabolism decreases at rest. Therefore, even faithfully following all the instructions regarding food intake and physical activity, a subject who responded well to a diet for a few weeks can suddenly gain weight! In a recent issue of British Journal of Nutrition, the researchers explain how they are made to quantify this phenomenon they call adaptive thermogenesis, relates the events unfolded yesterday.

The reduction in resting metabolism in people who are dieting was already known, but the tandem-Tremblay Chaput was quantified by subjecting a group of eight obese men with a program of weight loss combining food restriction and physical activity. The researchers found that the body seems to protect against excessive weight loss by lowering thermogenesis at rest. The disturbance regime in the energy balance induce a change greater than expected in the energy expenditure of subjects, showed researchers.Once started, this protection mechanism makes difficult any further weight loss, even with the best will in the world. As proof, one participant took two kilos, yet having followed to the letter four months during the prescribed program. His resting metabolism was decreased by 550 calories a day!

The importance of adaptive thermogenesis is underestimated by health professionals who supervise individuals trying to lose weight, according to Professor Tremblay. This means avoiding the hard diet, relying instead on learning retention. Some people may have also reached their healthy weight, even if they were still overweight. A good program of weight loss and must find a compromise between what one wants and what the body can tolerate.