Journal article
The Physiology Of the WEight Reduced State (POWERS) study: overview and study design
International journal of obesity (2005)
12 Dec 2025
PMID: 41388149
Abstract
Obesity is a multifactorial disease caused by physiological and environmental factors. Adults who have obesity are at increased risk for several additional chronic and infectious diseases, resulting in reduced life expectancy, compared to those with lower body mass indices. Weight loss (WL) has several clinical benefits to reducing these risks. However, among those who intentionally lose weight, it is common for some, or all, of the lost weight to be regained. There is evidence that changes affecting energy intake or expenditure, including metabolic adaptations in the weight-reduced state, work against maintaining WL. The Physiology Of the WEight Reduced State consortium (POWERS) designed a study to describe behavioral and metabolic adaptations to the weight reduced state and to examine their contributions to weight variability following WL. This is accomplished by quantifying physiological, psychosocial, behavioral and other factors before and after a behavioral intervention that induces WL. The primary goal of POWERS is to identify factors that explain the variability in weight change following intentional weight loss. This multi-center project includes a POWERS-designed WL intervention implemented at two clinical centers for 205 enrolled participants. Those losing at least 7% of their pre-intervention weight and attaining weight stability are followed in a 1-year observational phase that includes sequential physiological and behavioral phenotyping. It is anticipated that 70% of those enrolled in the WL program will enter the observational phase of the study and that 100 will complete the study. The primary outcome is weight change during the observational period with primary independent variables measuring energy intake and energy expenditure. Detailed endophenotypes of energy intake and energy expenditure are assessed using a combination of biospecimens, neuroimaging, objective measures (e.g., doubly labeled water, calorimetry, accelerometry, polysomnography), self-report questionnaires, and interviews to address their contributions to weight change variability up to 1 year following WL.
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Details
- Title
- The Physiology Of the WEight Reduced State (POWERS) study: overview and study design
- Creators
- Steven H Belle - University of PittsburghDympna Gallagher - Columbia UniversitySusan B Roberts - Dartmouth CollegeMaren R Laughlin - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesSai Krupa Das - Tufts UniversityKathryn J Whyte - Columbia UniversityWendy C King - University of PittsburghRachel Saks - Drexel UniversitySusan Z Yanovski - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesRoger A Fielding - Tufts UniversityLaurel E S Mayer - Columbia University Irving Medical CenterMatthew R Hayes - University of PennsylvaniaMichael Rosenbaum - Columbia University Irving Medical CenterKelly C Allison - University of PennsylvaniaMichael Lowe - Drexel UniversityRudolph Leibel - Columbia University Irving Medical CenterJohn M Jakicic - University of Kansas Medical CenterPOWERS consortium
- Publication Details
- International journal of obesity (2005)
- Publisher
- SPRINGERNATURE; LONDON
- Number of pages
- 9
- Grant note
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)NIH Offices of Disease Prevention (ODP), Behavior and Social Science Research (OBSSR), and Nutrition Research (ONR): UH3 DK128302, UH3 DK128298, U24 DK128125, R01 HL159805, P30 DK026687, UL1TR001873, T32 DK007559, K26 DK138418 US Department of Agriculture (USDA): 58-8050-9-004 NIH Boston Claude D. Pepper Center (OAIC): 1P30AG031679 USDA Agricultural Research Service: 58-8050-9-004, 1950-51000-071-01S University of Pennsylvania Diabetes Research Center (DRC): NIH DK019525 National Center for Research ResourcesNational Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health: 5-UL1-TR-001878-09
POWERS was funded as a Cooperative Agreement between the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the NIH Offices of Disease Prevention (ODP), Behavior and Social Science Research (OBSSR), and Nutrition Research (ONR) to the following investigators: Rudolph L. Leibel, MD [Contact], Dympna Gallagher, EdD, Laurel Mayer, MD, Michael Rosenbaum, MD (UH3 DK128302); Michael R. Lowe PhD [Contact], Kelly Allison, PhD, Matthew Hayes, PhD, Susan Roberts, PhD (UH3 DK128298); and Steven H. Belle, PhD, MScHyg (U24 DK128125). Additional funding to support this study was provided to Panayiotis V. Benos, PhD (R01 HL159805), Rudolph L. Leibel, MD (P30 DK026687 Human Phenotyping Core, Molecular Biology Molecular Genetics Core), Muredach Reilly, MBBCh, MSCE (UL1TR001873 Clinical Research Resource; Bionutrition Unit), Dympna Gallagher, EdD (T32 DK007559 in support of Giada Benasi, PhD and K26 DK138418), and Anthony W. Ferrante, MD, PhD (Hunter Eastman Fellowship in Translational Research in support of Maxine Ashby-Thompson, EdD). Roger A Fielding, Ph.D. was partially supported by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), under agreement No. 58-8050-9-004, by NIH Boston Claude D. Pepper Center (OAIC; 1P30AG031679) and Sai Krupa Das was supported by the USDA Agricultural Research Service Cooperative Agreement # 58-8050-9-004 and # 1950-51000-071-01S. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the USDA. We also thank the University of Pennsylvania Diabetes Research Center (DRC) for the use of the Radioimmunoassay Core (NIH DK019525). The project described was supported by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant 5-UL1-TR-001878-09. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Additional support was provided by the Robard Corporation, Mt Laurel, New Jersey, which supplied Numetra meal replacement products.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001639037200001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105025102984
- Other Identifier
- 991022145517104721
InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Nutrition & Dietetics