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(January 2, 2012)

Losing and staying lost


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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat.

Losing weight can be difficult, and keeping it off can be no easier. But a study indicates it can be done, with help. At Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Lawrence Appel examined data on obese people.  Some got support from trained weight loss coaches by phone, Web and email. Others got help that way and also got in-person coaching

Appel says both groups benefitted:

``Roughly 40 percent of participants in both groups lost 5 percent of their weight. That means that if they started off at 200 pounds, they lost 10 pounds and they kept on average 10 pounds off.’’ (12 seconds)

The study supported by the National Institutes of Health was presented at an American Heart Association meeting and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Nicholas Garlow.

Last revised: January 3, 2012