Fat-free mass loss generated with weight loss in overweight and obese adults: what may we expect?

There is concern that intentional weight loss may generate excessive loss of fat-free mass (FFM). Idealists target minimal loss of FFM, while others consider that FFM loss of up to 25 of weight loss is acceptable. In a cross-sectional study of 275 weight-stable, overweight or obese adults, we used whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure FFM.