Americans Can Maintain Weight Loss

Nearly six in 10 people maintained their weight loss to within 5 percent over a year's time.

"Weight maintenance following weight loss is doable," said lead author Edward Weiss, a medical epidemiologist with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. "We're still learning the things that are necessary for weight maintenance in the long run."

Unfortunately, those with more weight to lose were those more likely to regain, according to the study now appearing online and in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The researchers analyzed data gleaned from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on 1,310 adults ages 20 to 84 who had experienced "substantial" weight loss