As we enter a new year armed with resolutions to improve our lives, there’s a good chance we’ll also be carrying something less helpful: extra kilos. At least half a kilogram, to be precise.

“Weight creep” doesn’t have to be inevitable. Here’s what’s behind this sneaky annual occurrence and some practical steps to prevent it.

Small gains add up

Adults tend to gain weight^[1] progressively as they age and typically gain an average of 0.5 to 1kg every year^[2].

While this doesn’t seem like much each year, it amounts to 5kg over a decade. The slow-but-steady nature of weight creep is why many of us won’t notice the extra weight gained until we’re in our fifties.

Why do we gain weight?

Subtle, gradual lifestyle shifts as we progress through life and age-related biological changes cause us to gain weight. Our:

• activity levels decline. Longer work hours and family commitments can see us become more sedentary and have less time for exercise, which means we burn fewer calories

• diets worsen. With frenetic work and family schedules, we sometimes turn to pre-packaged and fast foods. These processed and discretionary foods are loaded with hidden sugars, salts and unhealthy fats. A better financial position later in life can also result in more dining out^[3], which is associated with a higher total energy intake

• sleep decreases. Busy lives and screen use can mean we don’t get enough sleep. This disturbs our body’s energy balance, increasing our feelings of hunger^[4], triggering cravings and decreasing our energy

Insufficient sleep can increase our appetite. Craig Adderley/Pexels^[5]

• stress increases. Financial, relationship and work-related stress increases our body’s production of cortisol, triggering food cravings and promoting fat storage

• metabolism slows. Around the age of 40, our muscle mass naturally declines, and our body fat starts increasing. Muscle mass helps determine our metabolic rate, so when our muscle mass decreases, our bodies start to burn fewer calories at rest.

We also tend to gain a small amount^[6] of weight during festive periods – times filled with calorie-rich foods and drinks, when exercise and sleep are often overlooked. One study of Australian adults^[7] found participants gained 0.5 kilograms on average over the Christmas/New Year period and an average of 0.25 kilograms around Easter.

Why we need to prevent weight creep

It’s important to prevent weight creep for two key reasons:

1. Weight creep resets our body’s set point

Set-point theory suggests we each have a predetermined weight or set point. Our body works to keep our weight around this set point^[8], adjusting our biological systems to regulate how much we eat, how we store fat and expend energy.

When we gain weight, our set point resets to the new, higher weight. Our body adapts to protect this new weight, making it challenging to lose the weight we’ve gained.

But it’s also possible to lower your set point^[9] if you lose weight gradually and with an interval weight loss approach. Specifically, losing weight in small manageable chunks you can sustain – periods of weight loss, followed by periods of weight maintenance, and so on, until you achieve your goal weight.

Holidays can also come with weight gain. Zan Lazarevic/Unsplash^[10]

2. Weight creep can lead to obesity and health issues

Undetected and unmanaged weight creep can result in^[11] obesity which can increase our risk of heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and several types of cancers (including breast, colorectal, oesophageal, kidney, gallbladder, uterine, pancreatic and liver).

A large study^[12] examined the link between weight gain from early to middle adulthood and health outcomes later in life, following people for around 15 years. It found those who gained 2.5 to 10kg over this period had an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes, obesity-related cancer and death compared to participants who had maintained a stable weight.

Fortunately, there are steps we can take to build lasting habits that will make weight creep a thing of the past.

7 practical steps to prevent weight creep

1. Eat from big to small

Aim to consume most of your food earlier in the day and taper your meal sizes to ensure dinner is the smallest meal you eat.

A low-calorie or small breakfast leads to increased feelings of hunger^[13], specifically appetite for sweets, across the course of the day.

We burn the calories from a meal 2.5 times more efficiently^[14] in the morning than in the evening. So emphasising breakfast over dinner is also good for weight management.

Aim to consume bigger breakfasts and smaller dinners. Michael Burrows/Pexels^[15]

2. Use chopsticks, a teaspoon or an oyster fork

Sit at the table for dinner and use different utensils to encourage eating more slowly.

This gives your brain time to recognise and adapt to signals from your stomach telling you you’re full^[16].

3. Eat the full rainbow

Fill your plate with vegetables and fruits of different colours first to support eating a high-fibre, nutrient-dense diet that will keep you feeling full and satisfied.

Meals also need to be balanced and include a source of protein, wholegrain carbohydrates and healthy fat to meet our dietary needs – for example, eggs on wholegrain toast with avocado.

4. Reach for nature first

Retrain your brain to rely on nature’s treats – fresh vegetables, fruit, honey, nuts and seeds. In their natural state, these foods release the same pleasure response in the brain as ultra-processed and fast foods, helping you avoid unnecessary calories, sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.

5. Choose to move

Look for ways to incorporate incidental activity into your daily routine – such as taking the stairs instead of the lift – and boost your exercise^[17] by challenging yourself to try a new activity.

Just be sure to include variety, as doing the same activities every day often results in boredom and avoidance.

Try new activities or sports to keep your interest up. Cottonbro Studio/Pexels^[18]

6. Prioritise sleep

Set yourself a goal of getting a minimum of seven hours of uninterrupted sleep^[19] each night, and help yourself achieve it by avoiding screens^[20] for an hour or two^[21] before bed.

7. Weigh yourself regularly

Getting into the habit of weighing yourself weekly is a guaranteed way to help avoid the kilos creeping up^[22] on us. Aim to weigh yourself on the same day, at the same time and in the same environment each week and use the best quality scales you can afford.

At the Boden Group, Charles Perkins Centre, we are studying the science of obesity and running clinical trials for weight loss. You can register here^[23] to express your interest.

References

1. ^{^} tend to gain weight (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
2. ^{^} 0.5 to 1kg every year (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
3. ^{^} result in more dining out (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
4. ^{^} feelings of hunger (www.sciencedirect.com)
5. ^{^} Craig Adderley/Pexels (www.pexels.com)
6. ^{^} tend to gain a small amount (jamanetwork.com)
7. ^{^} One study of Australian adults (jamanetwork.com)
8. ^{^} keep our weight around this set point (theconversation.com)
9. ^{^} lower your set point (theconversation.com)
10. ^{^} Zan Lazarevic/Unsplash (unsplash.com)
11. ^{^} can result in (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
12. ^{^} large study (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
13. ^{^} leads to increased feelings of hunger (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
14. ^{^} 2.5 times more efficiently (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
15. ^{^} Michael Burrows/Pexels (www.pexels.com)
16. ^{^} telling you you’re full (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
17. ^{^} boost your exercise (theconversation.com)
18. ^{^} Cottonbro Studio/Pexels (www.pexels.com)
19. ^{^} seven hours of uninterrupted sleep (www.sciencedirect.com)
20. ^{^} avoiding screens (www.nature.com)
21. ^{^} two (journals.sagepub.com)
22. ^{^} to help avoid the kilos creeping up (theconversation.com)
23. ^{^} You can register here (redcap.sydney.edu.au)