Background/Objectives

The winter holiday season in the United States, which spans mid-November to mid-January, contributes to over half of annual body weight gain. Although self-reported data have linked this weight change to both increased energy intake and reduced physical activity, objective techniques have never been used; and thus, the actual cause of holiday weight gain is controversial. Here, we aimed to determine changes in components of energy balance leading to the holiday weight gain.

Methods

Body weight change was compared between the pre-holiday (mid-September to mid-November) and the holiday period (mid-November to early January). Total energy expenditure (TEE) was measured using doubly labeled water during holiday time (early to mid-December). Subjective (ratings) and physiological (appetite-regulating hormones) measures of appetite, eating-away-from-home frequency, and incentive salience of food pictures were also evaluated.

Results

In 23 obese adults (87% female), body weight change during the holidays (0.41 ± 0.42 kg) was significantly higher (P = 0.02) than the body weight change during the pre-holiday period (−0.86 ± 0.42 kg). TEE was unchanged during the two periods, suggesting no role of energy expenditure on weight gain. However, participants reported lower satisfaction after a meal pre-load which was significantly correlated with increased body weight during the holiday period. An increase in number of episodes of eating at sit-down restaurants was also reported during that period. Overall, these changing behaviors were supported by a non-significant increase in energy intake (+80 kcal/day, P = 0.07) observed during the study holiday period.

Conclusion

We conclude that a decrease in energy expenditure does not result in the weight increase, but that increase in food intake is the more likely cause. Our data imply that compromised internal satiety mechanisms in presence of external food cues and diet-related behavioral variables during the holidays may influence weight gain.

中文翻译：

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饮食模式的变化是肥胖成人寒假期间能量摄入和体重增加的一个促成因素。

背景/目标

美国的寒假季节从 11 月中旬到 1 月中旬，占每年体重增加的一半以上。尽管自我报告的数据将这种体重变化与能量摄入增加和身体活动减少联系起来，但从未使用过客观技术；因此，假期体重增加的实际原因是有争议的。在这里，我们旨在确定导致假期体重增加的能量平衡组成部分的变化。

方法

比较节前（9 月中旬至 11 月中旬）和假期（11 月中旬至 1 月初）之间的体重变化。总能量消耗 (TEE) 是在假期期间（12 月初至中旬）使用双标水测量的。还评估了食欲、外出就餐频率和食物图片的诱因显着性的主观（评级）和生理（食欲调节激素）测量。

结果

在 23 名肥胖成年人（87% 女性）中，假期期间的体重变化（0.41 ± 0.42 kg）显着高于（P  = 0.02）节前期间的体重变化（-0.86 ± 0.42 kg）。两个时期的 TEE 没有变化，表明能量消耗对体重增加没有影响。然而，参与者报告称，餐前负荷后满意度较低，这与假期期间体重增加显着相关。据报道，在此期间，在静坐餐厅用餐的次数也有所增加。总体而言， 在研究假期期间观察到的能量摄入非显着增加（+80 kcal/天，P = 0.07）支持了这些变化的行为。

结论

我们得出结论，能量消耗的减少不会导致体重增加，但食物摄入量的增加是更有可能的原因。我们的数据表明，在假期期间存在外部食物线索和饮食相关行为变量的情况下，内部饱腹感机制受损可能会影响体重增加。