Increasing long-term exercise reduces the amount of calories we burn, research reveals

The future of weight loss plans may have to be personalised according to the way individual bodies expend energy, Kate Ng finds

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The weight loss plateau is a common complaint among people who embark on a new exercise regime in order to lose weight.

This means that while a person might find themselves losing weight at a steady rate in the first few weeks or months of following a new diet or fitness regime, it stops declining even if they continue working out.

The stall can often be frustrating and discouraging for people trying to reach a particular weight for health reasons. According to the NHS, it happens when the body adapts to the current programme of exercise and “learns to cope with the same energy demands while burning fewer calories”.