QUT Researcher Have you ever wondered why your excess body weight keep increasing after having successfully gotten rid of it some time back? Many of us must be thinking that this happens only to us, but it is not so. A latest study has attempted to understand why people, who have lost their excess weight through dieting and exercise, regain weight within two years of time. This study was conducted by the researchers at the Queensland University of Technology.

The energy metabolism researchers at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology conducted a 16 month study to try and unveil the mystifying cause of weight regain in some people.

Associate Professor Nuala Byrne, exercise physiology researcher, who is leading the study, says that, “It could be that different people need to lose weight in different ways in the first place.” She continues that, “We know the body responds to reduced calories with a series of compensatory changes in metabolism to conserve energy – the famous ‘plateau’ effect where weight is lost consistently for the first few weeks and then weight loss slows or even stops. But we think metabolism could be only half the reason because changes in behavior such as a drop in incidental exercise levels are also well-documented during dieting.”

The study aims to find solutions to various questions like; which is more important, metabolism or behavior during and after weight loss? Or, do differing dietary regimes yield different results?

The study investigators state that they doubt the problem that mainly occurs during and after weight loss, is that people alter their daily behavior in order to balance calories or exercises. People consciously or unconsciously balance their behavior by either eating more or eliminating certain daily physical activities.

In order to better understand this criterion, the investigators state that the study needs more over-weight male subjects ranging between 25 to 55 years of age. They state that they need subjects who have undergone not more than one hour of intentional moderate physical activity a week, or in other words are mainly sedentary.

They state that these subjects will have to follow a particular healthy diet for about 42 weeks and also be present at the various testing sessions that will be conducted during the course of the study.