Dieters who want to keep weight off ‘should walk 8,500 steps per day’
Studies of more than 3,000 adults found those who walked 8,500 lost an average of 4kg - and kept most of it off
Dieters who want to keep the weight off should walk 8,500 steps every day, according to new research.
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Experts compared a group of people dieting and exercising with a group dieting alone or not receiving any treatment, and found daily steps were a crucial factor in preventing weight regain.
Studies of more than 3,000 people with an average age of 53 who were overweight or obese found those who increased their step count to 8,454 a day lost almost 5% of their body weight on average, or around 4kg.
They also kept off most of the weight they had lost (with average weight loss at end of trials being 3.28%, or around 3kg), the study found.
Researchers found that, overall, the control group did not increase their number of steps and did not lose weight at any time.
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Researchers concluded there was a clear link between increasing step count and preventing weight regain, though during the weight loss phase it was reduced calorie intake that seemed to play the biggest role.
The research, being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, will also be published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Professor Marwan El Ghoch, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, who led the study, said: “Around 80% of people with overweight or obesity who initially lose weight tend to put some or all of it back on again within three to five years.
“The identification of a strategy that would solve this problem and help people maintain their new weight would be of huge clinical value.”
Prof El Ghoch and colleagues in Italy and Lebanon analysed 14 existing studies on the issue to look for themes.
These studies included 3,758 people from countries including the UK, US, Australia and Japan.
Overall, 1,987 people were on lifestyle modification programmes, including eating healthily and walking more.
Another 1,771 people were either dieting alone or not receiving any treatment and acted as the comparison group.
The programmes had a weight loss phase, followed by a weight maintenance phase, where the aim was to keep the weight off in the long term.
A person’s daily number of steps was measured at the start of the trials, at the end of the weight loss phase (average 7.9 months) and at the end of the weight maintenance phase (average 10.3 months).
Both groups of patients were found to have a similar step count at the start (7,280 in the lifestyle group and 7,180 in the comparison group) indicating that they had similar lifestyles.
Prof El Ghosh said: “Participants should be always encouraged to increase their step count to approximately 8,500 a day during the weight loss phase and sustain this level of physical activity during the maintenance phase to help prevent them from regaining weight.“Increasing the number of steps walked to 8,500 each day is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain.”