Weight gain during the holidays is a myth according to some experts.
Is this true?
A 2000 study by Yanovski involving 195 adults showed that the majority put on 1.06 pounds in six months from late September to early March. A year after the study began, 165 of the participants were weighed again. On average, they were each up about 1.36 pounds from their initial weights.
In addition, they found participants gained only an average of 0.37kg (0.8lbs) between mid-November to early or mid-January.
Most subjects had no evidence for significant weight change: over 50% had body weights that differed by no more than 1 kg at each of the 3 measurements, which are pre-holiday, holiday, and post-holiday.
People who were overweight or obese, to begin with, were more likely to gain five pounds or more during the initial six-month season, according to the study, which appeared in a March 2000 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. PMID: 10727591
A 2012 study consisting of 242 men and 201 women (40-69 years old) found that 65% of men and 58% of women gained only 0.5 kg/ 1.1 lbs of body weight, with 50% of both groups gaining only greater or less than 1% of pre-holiday bodyweight.
The researchers also found that obese men (BMI 30) gained more body weight than obese women. PMID: 22301936
A 2013 study involving 48 males and 100 females (age 18-65 years) with an average BMI of 25 (overweight) were evaluated in mid-November and early January (57 days).
The participants gained an average of 0.78 kg/ 1.7 lbs. Obese participants (>30 BMI) are most at risk as they showed the greatest increases in body fat %. Initial body weight, NOT exercise, significantly predicted body fat % and body weight gain. PMID: 23695203
Overall, weight increased by 0.7% (0.6 kg) in the participants from the United States and 1.0% (0.8 kg) in those from Germany during the Christmas New Year holiday season and 0.7% (0.5 kg) in participants from Japan during Golden Week. PMID: 27653588
A 2017 review of 15 studies about holiday weight gain published in the Journal of Obesity reported a gain of only 0.3-0.9kg (0.6-2lbs) between the last week of November to the second week of January. They also found that only the 2000 and 2016 study (Yanovski and Helander) had a long-term follow-up. PMID: 28744374
The 2000 study by Yanovski found the total weight gain over the entire year was 0.62kg (~1.3lbs).
More than 85% of participants “made no effort to control their weight” and yet gained just a small amount of weight over a 12-month timeframe.
In 2016 study by Helander, the weight retained by the American and German participants after the holiday period was 0.3kg (~0.6lbs) and 0.4kg (0.8lbs), respectively.
They found half of the weight was lost shortly after the holidays, while half of the weight gain remained until Summer and beyond.
What’s the lesson?
The studies remind us that what we do most of the time matters far more than what we do some of the time.
Instead of worrying about what you must do and not do on the holidays, be more concerned about what you do the rest of the year. Because the other days where you spend the majority of your life will have a more significant impact on your progress than the holidays.
