Jan. 16, 2005 – The good news is that you wouldn’t have to be on a diet to lose the weight you’ve accumulated over a short period of time, for example, during the holidays. It would suffice to return to a normal diet.
Recently, 12 people at a healthy weight were overfed for 13 days, consuming 35% more calories than normal. During this short period, subjects gained an average of 2.3 kilograms (5 lbs), without affecting their physical activities.
Then, they gradually returned to their eating habits, preceding the period of overeating. Result: After just seven days, everyone had lost 1.3 kilograms (almost 3 lbs) on average. According to the authors of the study1, it would take about two months to completely lose the accumulated weight.
They found that the momentary weight gain resulted in a 14% increase in the subjects’ metabolism. This would have contributed to this rapid weight loss, which occurred after the period of overconsumption, according to the researchers.
Nutritionist Hélène Baribeau, however, has a caveat. She specifies that the results of this study “conducted on people who initially had a healthy weight” cannot be applied to the entire population. According to her, such subjects already have a more efficient metabolism than people who are obese or overweight.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
According to Prevention.
1. Levitsky DA, Obarzanek E, Mrdjenovic G, Strupp BJ. Imprecise control of energy intake: absence of a reduction in food intake following overfeeding in young adults, Physiology & Behavior, April 13, 2005, Vol. 84, No 5, 669-75.
