8,500 Steps a Day Helps Maintain Weight Loss
SkimNews Take
Sustaining a high step count after a weight-loss program may be more effective than initial dietary changes alone, as it directly counteracts the body's natural tendency to revert to a previous weight.
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- Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta‑analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials, including 14 studies with 3,758 adults averaging 53 years old and a BMI of 31 kg/m².
- Lifestyle modification programs raised participants' daily steps from 7,280 to 8,454 during the weight‑loss phase, yielding an average 4.39 % body‑weight loss (~4 kg).
- Participants kept higher step counts (average 8,241 steps) in the maintenance phase and retained most of the loss, achieving a long‑term weight loss of 3.28 % (~3 kg).
- Control group did not significantly increase walking and showed no weight loss throughout the studies.
- Professor Marwan El Ghoch emphasized that preventing weight regain is the greatest challenge in obesity treatment, noting that about 80 % of people who lose weight regain it within three to five years.
- The study will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) in Istanbul (May 12‑15) and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Why it matters: The finding gives clinicians a concrete, low‑cost target—about 8,500 steps a day—that can help patients avoid the typical 80 % weight‑regain rate, potentially shifting obesity treatment toward sustainable lifestyle change and reducing long‑term health costs. It also offers a simple metric that can be tracked without expensive equipment.
