Researchers have discovered the secret to healthy weight loss

Half of the Danish population is overweight and 17% suffer from obesity

This condition increases the risk of premature death, as well as the sequelae of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infertility

The weight rebound of obese patients after the initial successful weight loss is an important and unresolved problem

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Vedovre Hospital have completed an important study and published it in the world’s most cited medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine

Changes in weight

In a randomized clinical trial, the team of researchers demonstrated a very effective treatment after diet-induced weight loss, combining moderate to high-intensity exercise with an appetite suppressant obesity drug, which is similar to Drugs that suppress the appetite hormone GLP-1

This is new knowledge used by doctors, nutritionists and physical therapists in practice

"The problem is that when people lose weight, they are fighting against powerful biological forces

High efficiency in combination therapy

215 Danes with obesity and low health ratings participated in the study

The participants were then randomly divided into four groups

Changes in body fat mass and lean fat mass

According to the guidelines of the Danish Health and Food Administration, all people participating in the study are weighed monthly and receive nutrition and diet counseling, with a focus on healthy weight loss

One year later, the weight of the exercise group alone and the weight loss drug group alone maintained a drop of 13 kg, and their health condition improved

The most significant improvement occurred in the combined group, who followed an exercise program and received obesity medication

Those who exercised in these two groups improved their health ratings, reduced fat mass, and increased muscle mass
.
This may indicate that the weight loss is healthier than those who only lost fat mass without improving their fitness index
.

"This is an important aspect that needs to be emphasized, because if you lose a lot of muscle while losing weight, you won't necessarily get a healthier body from losing weight," Signe Torekov said
.

"For public health, this is good news.
Approximately 115 minutes of exercise per week can maintain a significant weight loss, mainly high-intensity exercise, such as cycling
.
" By combining exercise with drugs that treat obesity Combined, the effect is twice that of single treatment
.
"

Through this research, researchers now hope that obese patients and their caregivers can establish a useful framework to maintain weight loss
.

Basic life>

Torekov pointed out that many obese people have tried to lose weight before, but the result is only to regain weight
.
This is because the general advice is to eat healthier and exercise more
.

"If you don't further investigate whether people are actually supported by exercise, treatment is not enough
.
" Therefore, we also continued to track participants to ensure that they get the support they need to exercise
.
This is necessary because it is very difficult to maintain weight loss
.
People need to understand this
.
Once you lose weight, you will not "heal"
.
"The ongoing exercises and efforts may need to last for many years," Signe Torekov said
.

"Our research also shows that without a structured treatment plan, the risk of weight rebound is high
.
" Twelve individual consultations were conducted in a year, including weight and diet recommendations by the Danish authorities based on healthy weight maintenance guidelines
.
This is not enough for the placebo group without an exercise program.
In this group, although weighing, diet and nutrition counseling are often carried out according to official guidelines, all the health benefits obtained through weight loss in the eight-week weight loss program All disappeared after a year
.
"

According to Signe Torekov, this emphasizes the importance of participating in a common weight maintenance program based on feedback when starting a weight loss program
.

"Therefore, it is important to have a system to support obese people to maintain life>
.
Our research can help solve this problem because we can say that if doctors, dietitians, and municipalities develop a structure through continuous follow-up A unified, combined treatment plan, which is actually effective for them
.
"