Keep the weight off by using personal contact groups

For those who have completed a behavioural weight loss programs have an increased chance of keeping the weight off.
According to a recent study by the Weight Loss Maintenance Collaborative Research Group, the benefits of weight loss maintenance programs and self-directed intervention were compared in a two-phase trial of 1,032 overweight and obese people. All the participants had hypertension, dyslipidemia or both.
In Phase 1 of the trial the participants went through a six month weight loss program where they lost an average of 4 kg. Phase 2 saw the participants being assigned to one of the following weight loss maintenance intervention programs for 30 months: monthly personal contact, unlimited access to an interactive technology based program or self-directed control.
The average weight loss during the study was 8.5 kg, whereas those in the personal contact groups put less weight back on compared to the self-directed group. For those who were involved in the interactive technology and self-directed part of the experiment the weight gain did not differ during the 30 months.
The results found that 71 per cent of the participants in the study stayed below the baseline weight.