Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition
- PMID: 27136388
- PMCID: PMC4989512
- DOI: 10.1002/oby.21538
Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition
Abstract
Objective: To measure long-term changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and body composition in participants of "The Biggest Loser" competition.
Methods: Body composition was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and RMR was determined by indirect calorimetry at baseline, at the end of the 30-week competition and 6 years later. Metabolic adaptation was defined as the residual RMR after adjusting for changes in body composition and age.
Results: Of the 16 "Biggest Loser" competitors originally investigated, 14 participated in this follow-up study. Weight loss at the end of the competition was (mean ± SD) 58.3 ± 24.9 kg (P < 0.0001), and RMR decreased by 610 ± 483 kcal/day (P = 0.0004). After 6 years, 41.0 ± 31.3 kg of the lost weight was regained (P = 0.0002), while RMR was 704 ± 427 kcal/day below baseline (P < 0.0001) and metabolic adaptation was -499 ± 207 kcal/day (P < 0.0001). Weight regain was not significantly correlated with metabolic adaptation at the competition's end (r = -0.1, P = 0.75), but those subjects maintaining greater weight loss at 6 years also experienced greater concurrent metabolic slowing (r = 0.59, P = 0.025).
Conclusions: Metabolic adaptation persists over time and is likely a proportional, but incomplete, response to contemporaneous efforts to reduce body weight.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02544009.
© 2016 The Obesity Society.
Conflict of interest statement
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Comment in
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Metabolic adaptation: Here to stay?Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Aug;24(8):1609-10. doi: 10.1002/oby.21553. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016. PMID: 27460709 No abstract available.
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Response to "Overstated metabolic adaptation after 'The Biggest Loser' intervention".Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Oct;24(10):2026. doi: 10.1002/oby.21635. Epub 2016 Sep 1. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016. PMID: 27581560 No abstract available.
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Overstated metabolic adaptation after "the biggest loser" intervention.Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Oct;24(10):2025. doi: 10.1002/oby.21638. Epub 2016 Sep 1. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016. PMID: 27581740 No abstract available.
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Maintaining Weight Loss: an Ongoing Challenge.Curr Obes Rep. 2016 Dec;5(4):383-385. doi: 10.1007/s13679-016-0230-y. Curr Obes Rep. 2016. PMID: 27699645 Review. No abstract available.
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