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Talk about a scale fail.
New research suggests that a common dieting mistake may trigger lasting changes in the body that make eating right more difficult.
Worse still, the effects appear to linger long after the bad habit is corrected, quietly sabotaging your ability to maintain a healthy weight.
Yo-yo dieting refers to the cycle in which individuals reduce calorie intake to lose weight, revert to previous eating patterns, and often regain more weight than they initially lost, perpetuating the cycle anew.
This is a prevalent issue in the US, where almost 75% of adults are categorized as overweight, and diet culture often prioritizes rapid weight-loss solutions instead of sustainable lifestyle modifications.
Studies estimate that up to 55% of American women and 35% of men have fallen into the yo-yo dieting trap at some point.
Curious how the cycle impacts the body, researchers in France put lab mice on a similar diet rollercoaster.
During several weeks, the animals were provided with alternating phases of nutritious, low-fat food and a diet high in fat and sugar designed to mimic Western dietary habits.
Just like in humans, their weight fluctuated up and down like a yo-yo. But over time, the mice also began binging on the junk food whenever it was available â even if they’d already been fed.
When researchers analyzed the miceâs fecal samples, they found long-lasting changes in their gut bacteria that altered their internal metabolism.
To test it further, the team transplanted the altered gut bacteria into healthy mice that hadnât been dieting. They, too, started compulsively overeating fatty, sugary foods.
The researchers also scanned the miceâs brains and found increased activity in their reward centers, the region that lights up in response to pleasurable stimuli, including food.
The findings suggest that yo-yo dieting may mess with both the gut and the brain â making it tougher to resist high-calorie foods and setting the stage for overeating.
While the experiment hasnât been tested in humans, the results suggest that yo-yo dieting could lead to similar changes in people as well.
The researchers said further studies will be needed to fully understand the biological mechanisms at play and confirm whether the same effect happens in humans.
Your gut and brain arenât the only things yo-yo dieting can mess with.
âWhen weight is quickly lost and regained, the regained weight is typically fat tissue rather than muscle tissue, which can increase the overall body fat percentage over time,” Melissa Hoover, a registered dietician, said in an interview with Piedmont Healthcare.
One review found that 11 out of 19 studies linked a history of yo-yo dieting to higher body fat and more belly fat.
Hoover also noted that most yo-yo dieters focus on cutting calories but skip the exercise habits that help maintain muscle. “This eventually leads to loss of muscle mass and body strength,” she said.
And the risks donât stop there. Yo-yo dieting has also been associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
In fact, one study found that people who lose and regain weight on yo-yo diets are far more likely to die from heart attack or stroke than people who keep the scale on an even keel â even when that âsteadyâ weight is slightly chubby.
Mentally, the cycle can wear people down. In studies, adults with a history of yo-yo dieting report feeling unhappy with both their health and overall quality of life.
