Rena R. Wing

While examining the various health benefits of weight loss, Wing developed an intervention which was ultimately used in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).[4][5] DPP was a trial which tested the effective differences between lifestyle interventions or metformin, a diabetes medication, and whether these differences were significantly variant on their ability to delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. During her research on the health benefits of modest weight loss, Wing recruited more than 3,000 overweight patients who suffered from impaired glucose tolerance.[1] These patients were randomly assigned either a placebo, metformin, or a lifestyle intervention. The results of this study found that reduced risks of developing diabetes from an average weight loss of 14 pounds (considered to be modest weight loss) was 58% with the placebo in comparison to 31% with the patients who received the metformin. Wing has continued to investigate this, but has changed her focus towards cardiovascular morbidity or mortality. She is currently testing over 5,000 overweight individuals who have type 2 diabetes. This study not only focuses on the effects of weight loss in terms of cardiovascular morbidity, but also has an interest in the impact this weight loss has for the long-term (12 years).[1]

Wing has also looked into how behavioral treatment of obesity can be improved. She has compared the different strategies included in behavioral programs. One example of this would be that high exercise goals and structured approaches to diet increase the chances of improving weight loss outcomes.[1] Wing's studies analyzed the role of involving overweight spouses, using financial incentives, encouraging taking breaks from dieting, and creating intra-group and inter-group competitions. Currently Wing is gathering more information on the effects of reducing variety in the diet and examining the effect of modifying the home environment. Wing has decided to expand her studies on this particular topic by looking at how the internet has an effect on behavioral techniques. She is focusing on various approaches of e-mail counseling or automated counseling.[1]

Wing is curious as to whether it is statistically possible to prevent weight gain and subsequent obesity. It has been found that there are three critical points in a person's life which have the most effective weight loss. These are childhood, the time surrounding pregnancy, and the menopausal transition.[1]

Leonard Epstein worked alongside Wing to assist in complete multiple trials on the behavior treatments of obese children around the ages of 8–12 years old and their overweight parent(s). Research has started to shift in this area towards focusing on children as young as 4–8 years old, and adolescents.[1] Wing concluded that the lifestyle intervention successfully reduced weight gain and the increase in LDL-cholesterol that are usually found in middle-aged women.[1]

Wing recognized that maintenance of weight loss is an important issue when it comes to the treatment of obesity. She is the founder of the National Weight Control Registry, which has a registry of over 5,000 people who have lost over at least 30 pounds, with an average loss of 70 pounds, and kept that weight off for at least one year, with an average of 5.7 years.[1] Information has been collected on the various behaviors that are correlated with long-term maintenance of weight loss through self-reported data. Wing has proven that it is possible to teach the strategies of successful weight losers, resulting in improving others' ability to maintain their own personal weight loss.[1]

In an effort to continue and help others, Wing assisted in a project called STOP Regain,[6] where she found that a self-regulation intervention through the internet or face-to-face had the ability to reduce the risk of weight regain. Knowing this, Wing created a study which compares successful weight losers with normal weight controls and obese controls in terms of behavioral measures and brain responses to food cues. Wing focused on whether successful weight losers who have reduced to normal weight now respond to food cues as always-normal weight controls, or if they continue to respond as if obese.[1]