Eat Wise & Exercise

Keep the Weight Off

We can learn about successful long-term weight loss from The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). The NWCR was established in 1994 and is the largest prospective investigator of long-term successful weight loss. Below is a summary from their web site.

Registry members have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for 5.5 years. These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity:

Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 pounds.
Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years.
Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly — over as many as 14 years.
45 percent of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55 percent lost weight with the help of a program.
98 percent of participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.
94 percent increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.

There is also variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off but there are also some consistencies among them. For example as you can see below, 90 percent of them exercise for an hour each day. Most people also report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet. Here's the breakdown for successful maintainers:

78 percent eat breakfast every day.
75 percent weigh them self at least once a week.
62 percent watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
90 percent exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

Are there lessons here that you can learn to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight?


Eat Wise & Exercise Home Easy Tracker (PDF Format) Contest Winners Past Weeks Experts Resources FAQ Last Year's Program Sponsored by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee health promotion program, Eat Wise and Exercise is a 10-week program from January 14 through March 23, 2008 — during the program you'll receive useful and practical information to improve your diet and exercise, and LIVE FOR LIFE coaches will keep you motivated. LIVE FOR LIFE at Duke Box 3200 DUMC 04290 Red Zone Durham, NC 27710 Phone: (919) 684-3136 Fax: (919) 681-0555 lflprogm@mc.duke.edu		LIVE FOR LIFE >> Eat Wise & Exercise >> Keep the Weight Off
		Keep the Weight Off We can learn about successful long-term weight loss from The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). The NWCR was established in 1994 and is the largest prospective investigator of long-term successful weight loss. Below is a summary from their web site. Registry members have lost an average of 66 pounds and kept it off for 5.5 years. These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity: Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 pounds. Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years. Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly — over as many as 14 years. 45 percent of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55 percent lost weight with the help of a program. 98 percent of participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight. 94 percent increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking. There is also variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off but there are also some consistencies among them. For example as you can see below, 90 percent of them exercise for an hour each day. Most people also report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet. Here's the breakdown for successful maintainers: 78 percent eat breakfast every day. 75 percent weigh them self at least once a week. 62 percent watch less than 10 hours of TV per week. 90 percent exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day. Are there lessons here that you can learn to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight?