Caloric Restriction Induces Changes in Insulin and Body Weight Measurements That Are Inversely Associated with Subsequent Weight Regain

BACKGROUND: Successful weight maintenance following weight loss is challenging for many people. Identifying predictors of longer-term success will help target clinical resources more effectively. To date, focus has been predominantly on the identification of predictors of weight loss. The goal of the current study was to determine if changes in anthropometric and clinical parameters during acute weight loss are associated with subsequent weight regain. METHODOLOGY: The study consisted of an 8-week low calorie diet (LCD) followed by a 6-month weight maintenance phase. Anthropometric and clinical parameters were analyzed before and after the LCD in the 285 participants (112 men, 173 women) who regained weight during the weight maintenance phase. Mixed model ANOVA, Spearman correlation, and linear regression were used to study the relationships between clinical measurements and weight regain. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Gender differences were observed for body weight and several clinical parameters at both baseline and during the LCD-induced weight loss phase. LCD-induced changes in BMI (Spearman’s ρ = 0.22, p = 0.0002) were inversely associated with weight regain in both men and women. LCD-induced changes in fasting insulin (ρ = 0.18, p = 0.0043) and HOMA-IR (ρ = 0.19, p = 0.0023) were also associated independently with weight regain in both genders. The aforementioned associations remained statistically significant in regression models taking account of variables known to independently influence body weight. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: LCD-induced changes in BMI, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR are inversely associated with weight regain in the 6-month period following weight loss.