Hello Aussiemum,
Some personal experience first with Weight Watchers, and then a series
of references on line.
I am currently a "lifetime" member (have made goal weight - and am
keeping it off). I first used Weight Watchers about 15 years ago -
lost about 50 pounds in 9-12 months and kept it off for about two
years. Over the years since I gained it back until I had regained what
I lost and a little more. I went back on the program about two years
ago and lost another 55 pounds in a 9 month period and have been
keeping it off [so far!]. However, according to some health studies, I
should still lose another 10 pounds for good health.
Picking a program
http://jhhs.client.web-health.com/web-health/topics/GeneralHealth/generalhealthsub/generalhealth/lifestyle/dieting/weightloss_programs.html
"On average, patients take off ten percent of their weight. However,
the following year from they have gained back as much as two-thirds of
the loss, and by the five-year anniversary nearly all of them have
gained back nearly all of the pounds."
This was the most concise quote I found and pretty much summarizes a
lot of the data that is available. There are a number of links on this
site that may also provide good pointers for you.
Weight Watchers
http://www.weightwatchers.com/aboutus/i2_au_comp_pr_winweightloss.asp
A two year clinical study showed that people who made it to goal
weight and continued to attend meetings for two years kept 78% of
their weight loss (compared to self-help results of returning to the
original weight). [even this reference has the "not typical" comment
applied]
Slim Fast
http://www.slimfast.com/medical/m_ditsch.asp
http://www.slimfast.com/medical/heber.asp
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/slim_fast.htm
The first two are summaries of medical studies concerning Slim Fast
diets. The third is a report by Vanderbilt University discussing those
as well as other studies and various psycological issues. The
conclusion of the report is that Slim Fast can aid in weight loss.
I searched several sites and did not find any studies that
specifically addressed the "typical results" of the Jenny Craig
program (except for this next item).
The US Weight Loss and Diet Control Market (7th Edition)
http://www.the-infoshop.com/study/md11355_weight_loss_diet_control_toc.html
The link has the table of contents, the full report costs $1795 -
likely out of your price range. Provides some evidence of large scale
analysis of several companies and products.
More general information includes:
Community Based Research
http://www.managedcaremag.com/archives/9909/9909.ethics.html
A relatively small study of medially managed weight loss - note that
over 10% of the people starting the program did not complete it.
Mentions both the average and "success stories" - note the range of
results.
National Weight Loss Registry
http://www.lifespan.org/services/bmed/wt_loss/nwcr/
http://www.lifespan.org/Services/BMed/Wt_loss/NWCR/Research/default.htm
The first is an introductory page to the NWLR - a study of about 3000
individuals who have lost at least 30 pounds for over a year. The
second is a listing of a number of research reports / abstracts for
those reports. You might find good information on other parts of this
site as well.
The US Government
http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/index.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-health.htm
A few of the government sites that provide health related information.
The first site has some weight loss brochures and related reports. The
second site (Federal Trade Commission) lists a number of resources
including legal agreements with major weight loss programs (Jenny
Craig, Weight Watchers, etc.) that mandated the "not typical" comment
on weight loss claims.
About.com
http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/
A series of links to articles and other information about weight loss.
Overall - there is a lot of information on weight loss. A few of the
search phrases I used included
typical weight loss results +research +study
typical weight loss results -"not typical"
typical weight loss results +study weight watchers (or the other
companies)
There are a lot more sites available, most trying to sell you a
product. A few more that appear to have some good research or unbiased
information.
In summary
- some (or many?) people who start a weight loss program will not
finish it
- people that do reach a goal weight gain the weight back in a period
that varies by type of diet and support activity
- there are people who do lose a lot and keep it off - but that is
*not typical*
If there is some part of this you would like me to go into more detail
- please use a clarification request for more information.
--Maniac |