There is one key problem with weight loss: It is often followed by weight re-gain. In fact, scientific studies reveal that within three to five years after achieving major weight losses, more than 50 percent of weight-losers have returned to their "baseline" weights - the body weights they were at before stripping off significant poundage in the first place (1). RECOVERY FROM A RELAPSE

Other research has shown that partial re-gains of lost weight are common, too. In one investigation carried out with 714 individuals who had lost an average of 28.9 kilograms (63.6 pounds), 35 percent of these subjects regained more than 2.25 kilograms (five pounds) during just one year of follow-up (2). Research suggests that recovery from such weight re-gains (where recovery is defined as re-losing the regained weight) is difficult and relatively uncommon.

For example, in a study carried out with 114 men and 38 women who had successfully completed a 15-week behavioral weight-loss program, a large number of the participates re-gained over half of their initial weight loss during follow-up (3). Just 27 percent of these re-gainers were able to lose at least half of the weight they re-gained, and only 7 percent of these individuals maintained this recovery (i.e., their re-loss of weight) for two years. What can be done to recover from relapses, i.e., to re-lose any weight which is re-gained after a successful weight-loss program has been completed? To find out, researchers recently studied weight re-gain and recovery for two years in 2400 individuals who had joined the National Weight Control Registry (4).

The Registry itself is an ongoing longitudinal study of people aged 18 or more who have lost 13.6 kilograms (30 pounds) of weight or more and have kept it off for more than one year. At entry into the Registry, 78.5 percent of the 2400 subjects were women, and 96 percent were white; average age was 47, and mean body-mass index (BMI) was 24.7 kg/m2. The average weight of the participants was 70 kilograms (154 pounds), the average weight loss (from maximum lifetime weight) was 32 kilograms (70 pounds), and the minimum 30-pounds weight loss had been preserved for an average of 6.5 years. RECOVERY FROM A RELAPSE

 Each individual's weight at the entry point into the study was referred to as his/her "baseline weight". In some respect, the participants did well during the two-year follow-up. For example, 99.6 percent of the Registry individuals remained below their maximal lifetime weight, and the average amount of weight below maximum was 28.3 kilos (about 62 pounds). Just 10 individuals out of 2400 returned to maximum body weight over the course of two years. In addition, 96.4 percent of the participants remained more than 10 percent below max lifetime weight.

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