People who have lost 10 percent or more of their body weight are more likely to avoid regaining 5 pounds or more if they weigh themselves regularly, especially daily. In a study conducted by Rena Wing of Brown University Medical School in Providence, R.I., 61 percent of those who weighed themselves daily maintained their loss within a 5-pound range after a year and a half. Only 32 percent of those who weighed themselves less frequently were similarly successful.
According to the researchers, most dieters regain a third of their loss within a year, two-thirds within two years. Regular use of a scale is one way to attack what what one specialist called "the Achilles heel of obesity treatment": maintaining weight loss for many years. Use of a scale alone will not maintain weight loss without attention to diet and exercise. But this study shows that the addition of a simple, concrete habit can significantly improve a dieter's chances of success.
Women who participated in the study received a basic scale from the researchers. However, for the gadget freak, increasingly sophisticated scales are becoming available at reasonable prices.
Japanese instrument manufacturer Tanita markets a sophisticated consumer line of scales in the United States via its subsidiary TanitaScale, Inc. The scales in Tanita's InnerScan series not only measure body weight, but using electrical impedence technology, estimate the user's body fat percentage.
Tanita's scales require that the user enter height, age, and sex. They can also estimate visceral (or deep body) fat , body water, bone mass, muscle mass, and daily resting caloric needs. The scale can compare these results to population averages and display a so-called "metabolic age." Users may be alarmed — or motivated — if their metabolic age is significantly higher than their actual age.
Some scales sold in Japan by Tanita and others incorporate detachable hand-held electrodes (pictured above left) that allow electrical signals to be sent through the arms as well as the legs. Tanita claims, however, that its InnerScan technology is accurate with only foot electrodes (pictured above right).
The latest versions of Tanita's scales marketed to women in Japan include a "female diet mode" (pictured right) to advise women when they should put the most effort into their diet. According to Tanita, when estrogen levels are rising, a woman's mood will be more conducive to sticking with exercise and diet.
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