EXERCISE AND THE MAINTENANCE OF WEIGHT-LOSS - 1-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF A CONTROLLED CLINICAL-TRIAL

This study reports results 1 year after treatment for 77 obese women w ho had been treated for 48 weeks by diet combined with supervised (a) aerobic exercise, (b) strength training, (c) aerobic plus strength tra ining combined, or (d) no exercise. Mean(+/- SD) end-of-treatment weig ht losses for the 4 conditions ranged from 13.5 +/- 9.1 kg to 17.3 +/- 10.3 kg, but there were no statistically significant differences amon g groups. Participants in all 4 conditions regained approximately 35% to 55% of their weight loss in the year after treatment; again, there were no significant differences among groups. Participants, however, w ho reported exercising regularly in the 4 months preceding the follow- up assessment regained significantly less weight than did nonexerciser s.