Participation in TOPS program leads to sustained, long-term weight loss

A majority of participants who experienced significant weight loss after 1 year in a national, nonprofit lifestyle modification weight loss program maintained significant weight loss for at least 7 years, according to findings presented at the 2016 Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting.

"Maintaining long-term weight loss is a critical challenge in treating obesity and related health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease," Nia S. Mitchell, MD, MPH, from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said in a press release. "Just losing the weight isn't enough. Since the health benefits of weight loss disappear when weight creeps back on, we need more research into effective strategies for maintaining a healthier weight once it is reached."

Mitchell and colleagues followed 65,559 individuals who participated in the Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) program between 2005 and 2010 and had at least two consecutive annual membership renewals.

Results showed that 50% of the participants had significant weight loss in the first year. Of the participants in that group who chose to participate in the second year, 80% remained in the significant weight loss category. The researchers reported that about 80% to 95% of participants who had significant weight loss in the first year and continued to renew their membership maintained significant weight loss for up to 7 years.

"Our study demonstrates that significant weight loss can be maintained for up to 7 years in a subset of individuals participating in the TOPS program," Mitchell and colleagues concluded. "Given the difficulty in maintaining weight loss in lifestyle modification programs for extended periods of time and that health benefits of weight loss disappear when weight is regained, maintaining long-term weight loss is a critical challenge in treating obesity and weight-related comorbidities. Therefore, further studies of the TOPS program should examine which populations will succeed at weight loss and weight loss maintenance and determine the factors that can improve these outcomes." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes

Reference:

Mitchell NS, et al. Extended weight loss maintenance for individuals in a national nonprofit weight loss program. Presented at: Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting, May 11-14, 2016; Hollywood, Fla.

Disclosures: Healio Internal Medicine could not confirm disclosures at the time of publication.