Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21677272›Full record

ReviewAmerican journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology2011

Biology's response to dieting: the impetus for weight regain.

Paul S Maclean, Audrey Bergouignan, Marc-Andre Cornier, Matthew R Jackman

Registry-linked trialAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04751916 (Nutritional Stimulation of Muscle Protein Synthesis and Metabolic Rate After Bariatric Surgery), which is not on this map. Cited by 216 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
216citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
10.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04751916 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Nutritional Stimulation of Muscle Protein Synthesis and Metabolic Rate After Bariatric Surgery

TypeinterventionalSponsorOregon Health and Science UniversityRan2021 to 2024Enrolled40ConditionsWeight LossArmsEssential Amino Acid Protein Supplement, Beneprotein®
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

216 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 441 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Interventions for the prevention of weight gain during festive and holiday periods in children and adults: A systematic review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
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  5. Extended calorie restriction suppresses overall and specific food cravings: a systematic review and a meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2017
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156 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paul S MacleanUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes, Center for Human Nutrition, Denver, Colorado, USA. paul.maclean@ucdenver.edu
Audrey Bergouignan
Marc-Andre Cornier
Matthew R Jackman
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus · US

Funding

PILOT STUDY--SUBSTRATE METABOLISM IN EXTREMELY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTSP30DK048520 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI Wendy M Kohrt · 1995 to 2026
$32.6M
Utilization of Ingested Engery During UnderfeedingR01DK038088 · NIDDK · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI MACLEAN, PAUL S. · 1986 to 2011
$3.2M
GUT PEPTIDE REGULATION OF VISCERAL SENSORY NEURONSR29DK045820 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI WILEY, JOHN W · 1993 to 1997
–
NIDDK NIH HHS DK038088NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK048520NIDDK NIH HHS P30DK45820NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK038088
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dieting is the most common approach to losing weight for the majority of obese and overweight individuals. Restricting intake leads to weight loss in the short term, but, by itself, dieting has a relatively poor success rate for long-term weight reduction. Most obese people eventually regain the weight they have worked so hard to lose. Weight regain has emerged as one of the most significant obstacles for obesity therapeutics, undoubtedly perpetuating the epidemic of excess weight that now affects more than 60% of U.S. adults. In this review, we summarize the evidence of biology's role in the problem of weight regain. Biology's impact is first placed in context with other pressures known to affect body weight. Then, the biological adaptations to an energy-restricted, low-fat diet that are known to occur in the overweight and obese are reviewed, and an integrative picture of energy homeostasis after long-term weight reduction and during weight regain is presented. Finally, a novel model is proposed to explain the persistence of the "energy depletion" signal during the dynamic metabolic state of weight regain, when traditional adiposity signals no longer reflect stored energy in the periphery. The preponderance of evidence would suggest that the biological response to weight loss involves comprehensive, persistent, and redundant adaptations in energy homeostasis and that these adaptations underlie the high recidivism rate in obesity therapeutics. To be successful in the long term, our strategies for preventing weight regain may need to be just as comprehensive, persistent, and redundant, as the biological adaptations they are attempting to counter.

Indexed as

Weight GainWeight LossAdaptation, PhysiologicalAdipose TissueAnimalsCaloric RestrictionDiet, ReducingHomeostasisHumansNeural PathwaysObesityTime FactorsTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID21677272
PMCPMC3174765
OpenAlexW2100212168

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.