image: says Ariana M. Chao, PhD, CRNP, Assistant Professor of Nursing at Penn Nursing view more
Credit: Penn Nursing
PHILADELPHIA (January 25, 2021) - While eating less and moving more are the basics of weight control and obesity treatment, finding ways to help people adhere to a weight-loss regimen is more complicated. Understanding what features make a diet easier or more challenging to follow can help optimize and tailor dietary approaches for obesity treatment.
A new paper from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) analyzed different dietary approaches and clinical trials to better understand how to optimize adherence and subsequent weight reduction. The findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"There is not convincing evidence that one diet is universally easier to adhere to than another for extended periods, a feature necessary for long-term weight management," says Ariana M. Chao, PhD, CRNP, Assistant Professor of Nursing at Penn Nursing and lead investigator of the paper. "Progress in improving dietary adherence could result from greater efforts to examine mechanisms underlying interindividual variability in responses to dietary approaches. The more we understand the characteristics of individuals who are trying to lose weight, the more able we may be to identify dietary interventions that facilitate their efforts."
The article detailing the study, "Dietary Interventions for Obesity: Clinical and Mechanistic Findings," is available online. Co-authors of the article include Kerry M. Quigley and Thomas A. Wadden, both of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
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About the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is one of the world's leading schools of nursing. For the fifth year in a row, it is ranked the #1 nursing school in the world by QS University and is consistently ranked highly in the U.S. News & World Report annual list of best graduate schools. Penn Nursing is ranked as one of the top schools of nursing in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through innovation in research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & Instagram.
Journal
Journal of Clinical Investigation