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$Title{What Are the Dangers of Yo-Yo Diets?}
$Subject{yoyo diets diet weight loss framingham heart study life styles eat
special procedure procedures dieting nutrition food foods dietary lifestyle
lifestyles yo-yo yo-yos yoyos gain}
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Copyright (c) 1992,1993   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


What Are the Dangers of Yo-Yo Diets?


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QUESTION:  Recently there was a lot of press on the dangers of YoYo diets.  I
am not sure I fully understand the meaning of those reports.  Does this mean
that people should no longer diet, because it can do them more harm than good?
Your counsel in this matter would be very much appreciated.

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ANSWER:  I expected to receive a number of questions about these reports, and
I was not disappointed.  Diets and weight loss seem to interest a great many
people.  Estimates put about 39 percent of the men and 36 percent of the women
of both Canada and the United States at weight levels that exceed those
considered healthy.  And with the growing understanding that excess weight is
a risk factor that may lead to heart disease, about 50 percent of American
women and 25 percent of the men are trying to stay on a weight loss diet at
any given time.  The problem is not with the dieting, but the fact once the
weight has been lost, all the good habits are quickly abandoned, and the
pounds return to plague us once again.  It is this constantly changing weight,
the ups and downs, that are considered to be more harmful than merely carrying
around those excess pounds on a regular basis.
     Although this situation has been studied before with conflicting
conclusions, the most recent report concerned individuals in the ongoing
Framingham Heart Study.  Using the initial recorded weights and those found at
each of the first eight reexaminations (performed at 2 year intervals),
investigators found that variations in weight were associated with heart
disease and death from heart disease to a significant extent.
     That means that the concept of "diet" should be changed to one of healthy
"life styles" so that once you have achieved your weight loss goals, you
continue to eat and live in a manner that keeps the pounds off.  That is truly
the healthiest strategy, and probably demands that we study why so many people
go back to their old ways after struggling to achieve success.  It certainly
doesn't mean that we give up on solving the problem of obesity, but that we do
something about teaching people to stay thin.

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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.