If you paid it, you really want to lose it: a study shown how a commercial weight loss program works.
A study in Sweden shown that weight loss commercial program works. The basic idea is simple, you want to get something that you have already paid for.
This cohort study done to examine how a commercial weight loss program suceed to lose weight and how much dropouts that they got. In the study, they used three approaches for energy restriction: 1) very low calorie diet or VLCD using 500 kcal liquid formula; 2) low calorie diet or LCD using 1200-1500 kcal formula and food; 3) 1500-1800 kcal restricted food diet. More than 9000 adults participate in this study from january 2006 until May 2009. And for your information, in order to finish this one year program, these obese adults have to pay around one thousand euro.
In the end, they lost weight
The results are excelent. After a year of treatment lost around 12% from they previous body weight with higher lost of weight found in VLCD group (13,9 kg) followed by other groups, 8,8 kg for LCD group and 6,9 kg for restricted food group. However this nice results are the results from those who were really completed this program. Because some people, just like the other weight loss program, dropped out.
How much they drop out?
It is surprising that more drop out found in LCD (23%) group and restricted food diet (26%) compared to VLCD (18%). This shown how people are more strict on very low calorie diet, surprisingly. However, the reason of dropout have also been investigated. Being young (less than 40 years old) and low initial weight loss are one of them.
This study is interesting and important, for development of weight loss treatment. However i found something that is really not clear from this report, how safe using VLCD for a year program? Are there side effects of following this program? eapecially after a year of eating just liquid formula.
Source:
Hemmingson E, et al. Weight Loss and Dropout during a commercial weight loss program including a very low calorie diet, low calorie diet and restricted normal food: observational study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012, 949-961.
Freitag's Nutrition 