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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Oct 7;4(11):1736–1742. doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-11-0133

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Patterns of weight cycling. BMI < 18.5 is underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal weight, 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and ≥ 30 is considered obese. A, patterns of weight regulation involving obese individuals, either consistently in the obese range, individual O or transiently losing weight, regaining the weight, and repeating the cycle, individual T. B, individual X consistently maintains BMI in the normal range (18.5-24.9), with small weight fluctuations; individual Y engages in intermittent caloric restriction to induce weight loss, whereas individual Z periodically fails to regulate body weight and transiently attains a body weight above the normal range for BMI. C, individual U has a BMI that fluctuates entirely below the normal range. This type of underweight pattern can be associated with eating disorders, fad dietary practices, or natural disasters or wars leading to weight cycling that can reach down to starvation/famine levels of BMI.