The broader account draws together several decades of work on what researchers call a defended body weight. Most people who lose weight through diet, and many who lose weight on medication, experience regain when the intervention ends. UT Southwestern described the findings as supporting the theory that hyperphagia drives regain toward a higher defended weight. One strand of research treats the defended weight as a relatively stable target established early and altered only by specific conditions. Many people do maintain weight loss over long periods, and clinical care exists precisely because these biological responses can be worked with.