A survey of 1,310 adults who had lost at least 10% of their highest weight showed that over a one year period:

Regained less than 5% of their body weight - 58.9%

Regained more than 5% of their body weight - 33.5%

Are continuing to lose - 7.6%

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine

By Marcy E. Mullins, USA TODAY

Not all dieters put the pounds back on
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Dieters: This news should make your day.

The conventional wisdom is that dieters regain most of the weight they lose. But a growing body of research, including data released today, suggests some dieters keep the pounds off, especially if they exercise regularly and don't watch a lot of TV.

Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined weight reports of 1,310 adults who were overweight or obese and had lost at least 10% of their highest weight. They were participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative sample of adults who reported their current weight, their weight the year before and their highest weight ever.

Researchers found that over the course of one year, more than half of those surveyed regained less than 5% of their body weight. One-third regained more than that percentage, according to the findings in July's American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Those who reported spending an average of four or more hours daily watching TV, playing video games or using the computer outside work were more likely to regain than those who spent one hour or less a day doing those activities.

"Regular physical activity has consistently been associated with weight-loss maintenance," says Edward Weiss, a CDC medical epidemiologist. "We don't know the optimal dose of physical activity for preventing regain, because it may depend on individual characteristics we didn't analyze, like caloric intake or resting metabolic rate (calories burned while sitting still)."

Another government study released last year found that people are more likely to keep off weight if they weigh themselves daily and do at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

Readers who participated in USA TODAY's Weight-Loss Challenge this year exercise one to two hours a day to maintain their weight loss. Some have dropped 100 to 200 pounds.

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