TUESDAY, July 27 (HealthDay News) -- Worried about whether the weight you just lost will stay lost? Seeking out the right Web site might help, a new study suggests.
People who shed pounds and then consistently logged on to a specially designed Internet site for weight maintenance were better able to maintain a significant portion of their weight loss than people who logged on less often, new research finds.
When people checked in to the Web site at least once a month to record their weight or food consumption over a two-and-a-half year period, they were able to maintain an average of 9 pounds of their original 19-pound weight loss. In contrast, those who checked in regularly for just 14 months during that time were only able to maintain 5 pounds of their weight loss.
Those who logged in even less often were only able to maintain 3 pounds of their initial weight loss.
"The bottom line is that we think the Internet is a helpful tool for weight loss maintenance," said the study's lead author, Kristine Funk, a research associate at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. "People who used the study-designed interactive Web site had better results than people who used it less often. The key seems to be, 'How do I make these new habits something that I'm doing for a lifetime?'"
continued at MedicineNet.com>>
People who shed pounds and then consistently logged on to a specially designed Internet site for weight maintenance were better able to maintain a significant portion of their weight loss than people who logged on less often, new research finds.
When people checked in to the Web site at least once a month to record their weight or food consumption over a two-and-a-half year period, they were able to maintain an average of 9 pounds of their original 19-pound weight loss. In contrast, those who checked in regularly for just 14 months during that time were only able to maintain 5 pounds of their weight loss.
Those who logged in even less often were only able to maintain 3 pounds of their initial weight loss.
"The bottom line is that we think the Internet is a helpful tool for weight loss maintenance," said the study's lead author, Kristine Funk, a research associate at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. "People who used the study-designed interactive Web site had better results than people who used it less often. The key seems to be, 'How do I make these new habits something that I'm doing for a lifetime?'"
continued at MedicineNet.com>>
