Doing approximately 8,500 steps daily can assist individuals in sustaining weight loss post-dieting, as per recent research. The study, to be presented at the ‘European Congress on Obesity’ in Istanbul, Turkey, revealed a direct correlation between increasing step count and preventing weight regain. It is crucial to boost step count during weight loss and uphold this increase during weight maintenance to minimize weight regain, according to the study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Professor Marwan El Ghoch from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, emphasized that preventing weight regain poses a significant challenge in obesity treatment. Approximately 80% of individuals with overweight or obesity who shed weight initially tend to regain some or all of it within three to five years. Identifying a strategy to combat this issue and aid individuals in maintaining their new weight would hold substantial clinical significance, he noted.
In a systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by Professor El Ghoch and researchers from Italy and Lebanon, the daily number of steps was monitored at the commencement of trials, the conclusion of the weight loss phase (averaging 7.9 months), and the conclusion of the weight maintenance phase (averaging 10.3 months). At the trial onset, both patient groups exhibited a similar number of steps per day, indicating comparable lifestyles.
The control group maintained a consistent step count and did not experience weight loss at any point. Conversely, the lifestyle modification (LSM) group elevated their step count to 8,454 daily by the weight loss phase’s end, accompanied by a notable body weight reduction (average of 4.39%, approximately 4 kg). They sustained this heightened step count, reaching 8,241 steps daily by the weight maintenance phase’s conclusion. Furthermore, they managed to retain most of the lost weight (average weight loss of 3.28% at the trials’ end, around 3 kg).
Professor El Ghoch highlighted that lifestyle modification programs can lead to substantial long-term weight loss.
