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Research Commentary| Volume 114, ISSUE 6, P857-861, June 2014

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Time to Correctly Predict the Amount of Weight Loss with Dieting

Published:March 31, 2014DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.02.003
Time to Correctly Predict the Amount of Weight Loss with Dieting
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      Max Wishnofsky asked in a 1958 report, “What is the caloric equivalent of one pound of body weight gained or lost?”
      • Wishnofsky M.
      Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight.
      Am J Clin Nutr. 1958; 6: 542-546
      After a thoughtful analysis of the existing literature, Wishnofsky concluded that “the caloric equivalent of one pound of body weight lost” or “gained will be 3,500.” Fifty years later and with thousands of citations in the scientific literature and the lay press, Hill and his colleagues repeated the often-used statement “an energy deficit of approximately 3,500 kcal is needed to lose 1 lb of body weight” in the authoritative textbook, Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease.
      • Hill J.O.
      • Catenacci V.A.
      • Wyatt H.R.
      Obesity: Etiology.
      in: Shils M.E. Modern Nutrition in Health & Disease. 10th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006: 1013-1028
      Hill and colleagues are not alone, with the same rule of thumb posted more recently on the Mayo Clinic,

      Mayo Clinic. Exercise for weight loss: Calories burned in 1 hour. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109. December 1, 2011. Accessed March 1, 2013.

      Livestrong,

      Martin M. How to burn 3,500 calories a week. Livestrong.com website. http://www.livestrong.com/article/422797-how-to-burn-3-500-calories-a-week. April 17, 2011. Accessed March 1, 2013.

      and countless other websites. But Wishnofsky's Rule as applied is inaccurate, leaving many counseled patients wondering why their prescribed weight loss is far less than expected, even when they rigorously adhere to their registered dietitian nutritionist's recommendations.

      Keywords

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      Biography

      D. M. Thomas is a professor of mathematics and director of the Center for Quantitative Obesity Research, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ.

      Biography

      M. C. Gonzalez is an adjunct professor, Postgraduate Program in Health and Behavior, Catholic University of Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil.

      Biography

      A. Z. Pereira is coordinator of nutrition, obesity, and bariatric surgery, Division of Endocrinology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, and a nutritional support physician, Division of Oncology, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil.

      Biography

      L. M. Redman is a member of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Women's Health Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA.

      Biography

      S. B. Heymsfield is a professor and George A. Bray Jr. Chair in Nutrition, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA.

      Article info

      Publication history

      Published online: March 31, 2014
      Accepted: January 30, 2014

      Footnotes

      STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST D. M. Thomas is a consultant for Jenny Craig. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the remaining authors.

      FUNDING/SUPPORT D. M. Thomas is supported by a Herman and Margret Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical Life Sciences Fellowship, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant R15 DK090739, and L. M. Redman by NIH grants R00HD060762 and U01 DK094418.

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.02.003

      Copyright

      © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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