Yo-yo dieting, also known as weight cycling, is the repeated loss and regain of body weight due to excessive hypocaloric dieting. The term "yo-yo dieting" was coined by Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., at Yale University, in reference to the cyclical up-down motion of a yo-yo. In this process, the dieter is initially successful in the pursuit of weight loss but is unsuccessful in maintaining the loss long-term and begins to gain the weight back. The dieter then seeks to lose the regained weight, and the cycle begins again.
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Causes
The reasons for yo-yo dieting are varied but often include embarking upon a hypocaloric diet that was initially too extreme. At first the dieter may experience elation at the thought of loss and pride of their rejection of food. Over time, however, the limits imposed by such extreme diets cause effects such as depression or fatigue that make the diet impossible to sustain. Ultimately, the dieter reverts to their old eating habits, now with the added emotional effects of failing to lose weight by restrictive diet. Such an emotional state leads many people to eating more than they would have before dieting, causing them to rapidly regain weight. [1]
Effects on Health
This kind of diet is associated with extreme food deprivation as a substitute for good diet and exercise techniques. As a result, the dieter may experience loss of both muscle and body fat during the initial weight-loss phase (weight-bearing exercise is required to maintain muscle). After completing the diet, the dieter is likely to experience the body's famine response, leading to rapid weight gain of only fat. This is a dangerous fat-cycle that changes the body's fat to muscle ratio, one of the more important factors in health. One study in rats showed those made to yo-yo diet were more efficient at gaining weight.[2] However, as of 1994, the research compiled by Atkinson et al. (1994) showed that there are “no adverse effects of weight cycling on body composition, resting metabolic rate, body fat distribution, or future successful weight loss,” and that there is not enough evidence to show risk factors for cardiovascular disease being directly dependant on cyclical dieting patterns. [3] Since there is “no single definition of weight cycling [that] can be endorsed,” it is almost impossible for research to draw specific conclusions about the actual affects of cyclical dieting, until it becomes more definitely defined. [4]
References
- ^ Amigo, I., Fernandez, C. (May 2007). "Effects of diets and their role in weight control". Psychology, Healthy Medicine 12 (3): 312-327. doi:.
- ^ The effects of repeated cycles of weight loss and regain in rats ScienceDirect - Physiology & Behavior
- ^ Atkinson, R. L., Dietz, W. H., Foreyt, J. P., Goodwin, N. J., Hill, J. O., Hirsch, J.,… Yanovski, S. Z. (1994). "Weight cycling. National task force on the prevention and treatment of obesity.". Journal of the American Medical Association 15 (272): 1196-1202.
- ^ Atkinson, R. L., Dietz, W. H., Foreyt, J. P., Goodwin, N. J., Hill, J. O., Hirsch, J.,… Yanovski, S. Z. (1994). "Weight cycling. National task force on the prevention and treatment of obesity.". Journal of the American Medical Association 15 (272): 1196-1202.
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External links
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