Apparently dietsing can damage your health due to repeated weight gains and losses. Also, most people gain back more than they lose.
More than two-thirds pile the pounds straight back on, raising the danger of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.Indeed most dieters end up heavier than they did to start with, the researchers found.
They warn this type of yo-yo behaviour is linked to a host of health problems. And they say the strain that repeated weight loss and gain places on the body means most people would have been better off not dieting at all.
That's a pretty incredible result that flies in the face of a mega-billion dollar industry. What about those few people who do manage to keep the weight off?
The psychologist, who advises would-be slimmers to swap calorie-controlled diets for a balanced diet coupled with regular exercise, added: "Exercise may well be the key factor leading to sustained weight loss.Studies consistently find that people who report the most exercise also have the most weight loss."
The point of the article is that one cannot take on a short-term diet, lose weight, and then expect to keep the weight off despite returning to one's original habits. The key to taking weight off and keeping it off is a complete change in lifestyle, including exercise and abstention from crappy foods. This isn't easy, and most people can't/won't/don't do it.
