Strategies to manage weight during the holiday season among US adults: A descriptive study from the National Weight Control Registry

BACKGROUND: Holidays are challenging for weight control and are consistently associated with weight gain. Managing holiday weight gain may be especially difficult for individuals with higher body weight or a history of overweight/obesity. The current study evaluated how individuals with a history of successful weight loss plan for the holiday season and how the use of weight control strategies was associated with weight change. METHODS: A subgroup of participants in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) were asked to complete a survey before (November) and after the holidays (January). At pre‐holiday, participants reported height, weight, and weight goals for the holiday season (lose, maintain, minimize gains, or gain), and selected the top three weight control strategies they planned to use (from a list of 18). Post‐holiday, participants reported weight and how often (frequently, infrequently, or not at all) they used each of the 18 strategies throughout the holidays. RESULTS: Individuals who completed both surveys were included in the analysis (n = 683; 69% female, 93% white, 54.6 years [SD: 13.2], 26.9 kg/m(2) [SD: 5.5]). Pre‐holiday, 64% of participants were currently trying to lose weight. Only 35% of the sample wanted to continue losing weight during the holiday season. The most common strategies individuals planned to use during the holiday season were evidence based (maintaining exercise, monitoring portions, tracking foods, and self‐weighing). Participants gained 0.66 kg (SD: 1.85) from pre‐ to post‐holiday and reported using an average of 12/18 strategies. A greater number of strategies were associated with less weight gain (F[1, 670] = 4.28, p = 0.04). Daily self‐weighing (p = 0.03) and prioritizing food choices (p = 0.02) were individually associated with less weight gain. DISCUSSION: Participants in the NWCR entered the holiday season with a variety of goals for their weight and used many different strategies to control their weight. Having a wider range of strategies may be helpful to navigate the challenges to weight control during the holidays.