Physical Wellness

People Most Likely to Lose Weight on Weekdays

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Feb 03, 2014 05:49 PM EST

Weight decreases during weekdays and increases during weekends, according to a new study.

Researchers studied how the seven-days-a-week human cycle had on weight by looking at 80 adults ranging from 25 to 62 years old. The participants were divided into groups according to relative weight changes: weight losers (-3% weight loss), weight gainers (+1% weight gain), and weight maintainers (-3% to 1% weight change).

Participants weighed themselves after waking up before breakfast. Only weight measurements that were taken over at least seven consecutive days were included in the analysis.

The findings revealed a clear pattern in weekly weight fluctuation, which higher weight after weekends and decreasing weight during the weekdays reaching the lowest point on Friday.

The findings also revealed a surprising difference between weight losers and weight gainers in these fluctuation patterns. Weight losers immediately started losing weight after the weekend and continued to lose weight until Friday. However, weight gainers had more variability between days and no clear decrease during weekdays.

Researchers said the findings suggest that weight variations between weekdays and weekends should be considered normal instead of weight gain.

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