title: Weight loss over time. Concomitants and consequences of a decreasing rate.
abstract: A decelerating rate of weight loss occurred among women participating in a community-based weight-control program. The rate of change may be due to greater food intake or to change in the level of fluid loss, in metabolic rate, and/or in the amount of physical activity. As these changes may affect motivation to persevere, they should be explained at the start of treatment, and program participants should be encouraged to maintain a gradually increasing level of physical activity. Disillusionment with the failure to sustain the initial rapid weight loss may be a factor that better predicts attrition than the demographic, personal history, or psychologic factors that have previously been studies.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000378:metabolism; D001835:Body Weight; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D005082:Physical Exertion; D013217:Starvation; D013997:Time Factors