title: Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition.
abstract: To measure long-term changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and body composition in participants of "The Biggest Loser" competition.
  
  
  
  Body composition was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and RMR was determined by indirect calorimetry at baseline, at the end of the 30-week competition and 6 years later. Metabolic adaptation was defined as the residual RMR after adjusting for changes in body composition and age.
  
  
  
  Of the 16 "Biggest Loser" competitors originally investigated, 14 participated in this follow-up study. Weight loss at the end of the competition was (mean ± SD) 58.3 ± 24.9 kg (P < 0.0001), and RMR decreased by 610 ± 483 kcal/day (P = 0.0004). After 6 years, 41.0 ± 31.3 kg of the lost weight was regained (P = 0.0002), while RMR was 704 ± 427 kcal/day below baseline (P < 0.0001) and metabolic adaptation was -499 ± 207 kcal/day (P < 0.0001). Weight regain was not significantly correlated with metabolic adaptation at the competition's end (r = -0.1, P = 0.75), but those subjects maintaining greater weight loss at 6 years also experienced greater concurrent metabolic slowing (r = 0.59, P = 0.025).
  
  
  
  Metabolic adaptation persists over time and is likely a proportional, but incomplete, response to contemporaneous efforts to reduce body weight.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fothergill
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Juen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.affiliation: Hospitalist Section, Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Kerns
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Towson University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Nicolas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Knuth
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brychta
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Kong Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Monica C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Skarulis
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D001481:Basal Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000378:metabolism*; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*