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Do People Really Gain Weight Over the Holidays?

"Doc, I always gain weight over the holidays" is a familiar refrain in primary care practice. These researchers sought to determine whether Americans really do gain substantial weight during the winter holiday season.

A total of 195 healthy volunteers, mostly employees at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, were weighed repeatedly between late September and early March; they were not informed precisely of the purpose of the study. Half were women, mean age was 39, and average weight was 74 kg (range, 43 to 139 kg).

There was a non-significant mean weight gain of 0.18 kg from late September to mid-November, a significant gain of 0.37 kg during the mid-November to mid-January holiday period, and virtually no change from mid-January to early March (0.07 kg loss). Thus, the total average gain was 0.48 kg. Most subjects were weighed again in the following September or October; there was a non-significant additional average gain of 0.21 kg. About 9 percent of subjects gained at least 2.3 kg (5 lb) over the holiday period.

Comment: These results support the idea that weight gain is, in fact, concentrated during the winter holiday season. Although the average increase in weight seemed modest, the authors point out that these gains were not reversed over the summer, and thus might add up over the years.

— AS Brett

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine April 7, 2000

Citation(s):

Yanovski JA et al. A prospective study of holiday weight gain. N Engl J Med 2000 Mar 23 342 861-867.

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