Weight Loss Diet Research - Dieting Effects
Weight Loss Study Summary
Recent weight loss research among children and adolescents, suggests that
those who diet to lose weight were significantly more likely to become
overweight than those who never followed a weight loss diet.
Weight Loss Study Method
Harvard Medical School assessed the weight change patterns of frequent
dieters compared to infrequent dieters and those who never dieted. The
study included 5,865 girls and 4,322 boys, ages 9 to 14 years in 1996
and followed from 1996 to 1998. Among those who were normal weight in
1996 and 1997, 27.9 percent of the girls and 6.7 percent of the boys had
dieted to lose weight in the previous year.
Weight Loss Study Results
Normal weight female dieters were significantly more likely than non-dieters
to report binge eating at least monthly (.5% never dieters vs. 3.1% infrequent
dieters vs. 12.5% frequent dieters). Between 1997 and 1998, 2.7 percent
of the girls and 5.2 percent of the boys became overweight. Regardless
of their intake of calories, fat or carbohydrate or their physical activity
or inactivity, the frequent dieters were significantly more likely to
become overweight than those who never dieted.
Weight Loss Study Conclusion
Few people are able to stick to a restrictive diet for an extended period
of time. Therefore, periods of dieting may be interspersed with periods
of overeating. Adolescents who are not overweight should be encouraged
to adopt a more moderate approach to weight control. Instead of following
a weight loss diet, which invariably cannot be maintained, physical activity
and eating patterns should be promoted that are healthy and not overly
restrictive
Source: 2000 Press Release: North American
Association For The Study Of Obesity
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