EvanG wrote:this data for the biggest loser cohort is confirming the idea of something like starvation mode as a possibility in some instances.
Yeah, heard this on NPR today, and the name "Pennington Research Center" sure sounds credible, but I wonder if the researcher was overgeneralizing. Maybe, like Jim said, the lowered metabolism is due to the tremendous calories they burn. There is no way to lose the weight they lose by diet + normal amounts of exercise so it's extremely unnatural. Yet, the researcher said that the lowered metabolism was a normal consequence of dieting. She did say that it was much better for them to have lost the weight.
edit: Now I read the article. Even with the lower metabolism, the only reason their maintenance is so "hard" is because they know the principles of deprivation and not calorie density.