ArticleObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2016
Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition.
Article in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06079658 (The Effects of Continuous vs. Intermittent Caloric Restriction on Fat Loss), which is not on this map. Cited by 319 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
The Effects of Continuous vs. Intermittent Caloric Restriction on Fat Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
319 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 653 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of exercise interventions on weight regain after weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of endoscopic treatments for obesity: a clinical evidence map and systematic review to inform a model-based cost-effectiveness analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Intermittent Fasting and Calorie Restriction on Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Roles of the gut microbiome in weight management.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2023Pooled it
- Obesity in South and Southeast Asia-A new consensus on care and management.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2023Guideline
- The Effects of Continuous vs. Intermittent Caloric Restriction on Fat Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Adaptive Thermogenesis After Hypocaloric Low-Carbohydrate Versus Low-Fat Diets in African American Women: A Secondary Analysis.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of providing energy expenditure information to guide weight loss interventions in people with obesity: A randomized controlled trial.Clinical obesity · 2025Trial
- Using stereotype violation to shift causal understanding and attitudes about weight.Eating behaviors · 2024Trial
- Adaptive thermogenesis, at the level of resting energy expenditure, after diet alone or diet plus bariatric surgery.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- The inflammatory proteome, obesity, and medical weight loss and regain in humans.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2023Trial
- Impact of an Intuitive Eating Intervention on Disordered Eating Risk Factors in Female-Identifying Undergraduates: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Adaptive thermogenesis after moderate weight loss: magnitude and methodological issues.European journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Weight and body composition changes affect resting energy expenditure predictive equations during a 12-month weight-loss intervention.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2021Trial
- The Long-Term Dietitian and Psychological Support of Obese Patients Who Have Reduced Their Weight Allows Them to Maintain the Effects.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Trial
- High-intensity interval training and essential amino acid supplementation: Effects on muscle characteristics and whole-body protein turnover.Physiological reports · 2021Trial
- Metabolic adaptation is an illusion, only present when participants are in negative energy balance.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Trial
259 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo measure long-term changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) and body composition in participants of "The Biggest Loser" competition.
methodsBody 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.
resultsOf 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).
conclusionsMetabolic adaptation persists over time and is likely a proportional, but incomplete, response to contemporaneous efforts to reduce body weight.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.