Irregular Patterns in the Daily Weight Chart at Night Predict Body Weight Regain

Abstract

This study examined whether charting daily weight patterns can predict weight regain in obese patients. The subjects were 98 moderately obese Japanese women aged 23 to 66 years who were obliged to precisely record their daily weights during the initial 4-month education period, but not thereafter. The patients were followed up at 8, 12, and 16 months. Abdominal fat areas and blood samples were assessed in the outpatient clinic at 0, 4, and 16 months. The standard deviations (SDs) of the differences in body weight between "after waking up" and "after breakfast" (SDa), "after dinner" (SDb), and "before going to bed" (SDc) were calculated, which were parameters reflecting the fluctuations in the daily weight patterns during the first 4 months. SDc, but not SDa or SDb, was correlated positively with weight regain at 8, 12, and 16 months (P = 0.049, P = 0.002, and P = 0.001, respectively). There were significant differences in temporal change in body weight and abdominal visceral fat between the small SDc group (SDc </=25th percentile) and the large SDc group (SDc >75th percentile), but not for subcutaneous abdominal fat or the serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, or lipids. The results indicate that fluctuation of body weight immediately before going to bed is useful for predicting the rebound in body weight.

The Impact of Regular Self-weighing on Weight Management: A Systematic Literature Review

“…With the exception of one study that exclusively recruited males [ 31 ], all other study samples primarily included middle-aged females. Four studies recruited females exclusively [ 24 , 25 , 27 , 33 ] and two studies were conducted in Japan [ 33 , 34 ]. Median baseline body mass index (BMI) was about 30 kg/m 2 across all samples (see Table 2 ).…”

“…Qi et al [ 24 ] found that, compared to participants who did not lost 5 kg or more, participants who lost 5 kg or more in a behavioral weight loss program significantly increased their daily self-weighing frequency between baseline and 6-months follow-up. An uncontrolled cohort study by Tanaka and colleagues [ 33 ] found that participants who completed a nutrition-focused weight loss program whereby they self-weighed 4 times per day lost a significant amount of weight (~4 kg) over 16 weeks.…”

Self-weighing in weight management: A systematic literature review

“…Of the total existing English language articles related to self‐weighing, only 16 met our inclusion criteria. Of the 16 articles, we further excluded 3 RCTs, because self‐weighing was not included among the weight loss intervention strategies , self‐weighing was not used for weight management but only for recording weight , and the effects of self‐weighing on outcomes were not evaluated . On the basis of the remaining 13 RCTs, we further identified 4 relevant studies using the Cited Reference Search strategy, bringing our total to 17 studies.…”

Variability in Weight Change Early in Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment: Theoretical and Clinical Implications

“…Higher fluctuation in weight may signal less consistency in weight control behaviors. 5 However, research regarding the benefit of short-term weight consistency is mixed. On the one hand, Orsama and colleagues 6 found higher weights on weekends than weekdays, a pattern that was strongest in those who lost or maintained, rather than gained, weight over time.…”