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VIDEO: Good start on a weight loss regimen leads to better weight maintenance in the long run
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LOS ANGELES — The best predictor of long-term weight loss success is the amount of initial weight loss, with those who lose more weight early in an intervention able to keep it off years later, said Donna Ryan, MD, professor emerita at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in a video interview.
Ryan reviewed some lessons from the LOOK Ahead study, in which weight loss at month 1 was correlated with weight maintenance at year 8. Better adherence to the intervention was key to long-term success, and Ryan offers some advice to clinicians for helping their patients stick to recommended lifestyle modifications, including maximizing intervention intensity, using apps and other tools to make adherence easier, reducing medications associated with weight gain, controlling diabetes, and addressing personal factors such as sleep deprivation and stress.