Weight loss experts say slimmers should walk a set number of steps per day

Slimmers hoping to maintain their weight loss should aim for 8,500 steps daily, according to new research. Scientists who examined a group of individuals combining diet and exercise with another group either dieting alone or receiving no intervention discovered that daily step count was a critical element in avoiding weight regain. The study, being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, will also be published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Professor Marwan El Ghoch, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, who led the research, said: "Around 80% of people with overweight or obesity who initially lose weight tend to put some or all of it back on again within three to five years. The identification of a strategy that would solve this problem and help people maintain their new weight would be of huge clinical value." Prof El Ghoch and colleagues in Italy and Lebanon examined 14 existing studies on the subject to identify patterns. These studies featured 3,758 participants with an average age of 53 who were overweight or obese, from nations including the UK, US, Australia and Japan. In total, 1,987 individuals were following lifestyle modification programmes, incorporating healthy eating and increased walking. A further 1,771 participants were either dieting independently or not receiving any intervention and served as the control group. The programmes consisted of a weight loss stage, followed by a weight maintenance stage, where the goal was to sustain the weight loss over the longer term. Participants' daily step counts were recorded at the beginning of the trials, at the conclusion of the weight loss stage (averaging 7.9 months) and at the end of the weight maintenance stage (averaging 10.3 months). Both sets of participants were found to have comparable step counts at the outset (7,280 in the lifestyle group and 7,180 in the comparison group), suggesting they had similar activity levels. Researchers discovered that, overall, the control group neither increased their step count nor shed any weight at any point. By contrast, those following the lifestyle advice programmes boosted their daily step count to 8,454 by the close of the weight loss stage, shedding an average of 4.39% of their body weight, or roughly 4kg. By the end of the weight maintenance stage, these participants were still hitting 8,241 steps per day. They also managed to keep off the majority of the weight they had shed (with average weight loss at the trials' conclusion standing at 3.28%, or approximately 3kg), according to the study. Researchers concluded there was a distinct correlation between increasing daily steps and preventing weight from creeping back on, though during the weight loss stage it appeared that reduced calorie consumption played the most significant role. Prof El Ghosh said: "Participants should be always encouraged to increase their step count to approximately 8,500 a day during the weight loss phase and sustain this level of physical activity during the maintenance phase to help prevent them from regaining weight. Increasing the number of steps walked to 8,500 each day is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain."