Weight Loss and Dieting: Why dieting alone fails almost everyone in the end?
New diets and weight loss programs are constantly being created and promoted everywhere. Atkins, Paleo, ketogenic…they all are intended to result in weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. While the latter may be true depending on your ability to supplement for deficiencies the diets create, weight loss seems to be misleading almost everyone who attempts to implement these nutritional habits. Research conducted by Tracy Mann, Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, Janet Tomiyama, Assistant Professor of Psychology at UCLA, and Britt Ahlstrom, Manager of Health and Eating Laboratory, University of Minnesota, came to the conclusion that not only did people regain the weight they lost from dieting initially, they actually gained more weight than before they started dieting. This conclusion to most people seems absurd, but research reported in the April issue of American Psychologist proves it. Most diet studies fail to compile data that is accurate and of long enough duration to report true results. Weights were recorded via the phone or mail in most cases, which leads one to believe most data was skewed to reinforce the diets effectiveness.
20 diets consisting of low-carb, low-fat, and low-calorie variations were analyzed and the results were quite profound. The relationship between dieting and weight loss showed that within the first 6 months dieters lost an average of 5-10% of their bodyweight. However, after that point weight loss stopped and weight gain persisted. After 2 years weight lost was almost completely regained and steadily increased from beyond this point. The graphs seen in the article attached below show an exponential relationship between time after the start of a diet and weight gain. These findings truly demonstrate the fallacy created by diet advertising and the lack of understanding from the public. Like any other business, creating a product that leaves customers completely satisfied and without a need for return for more is a poor model for profits. A small success to keep you guessing and questioning yourself to draw people in for years to come is the motive. As stated in the attached article, The Institute of Medicine considers a successful dieter as an individual who loses 5% of their starting weight and maintains that for a year. This absurd claim is not only insignificant, but a complete disservice to the people who are at risk from obesity or being overweight. For example, a 300 pound woman is classified as severely obese and a 5% weight loss is only 15lbs. This new weight of 285lbs creates no health benefit whatsoever, but in clinical terms she is a successful dieter.
If diets do not create and sustain weight loss, then what will? The answer is exercise. When exercise is implemented into a lifestyle along with some form of nutritional change, people sustain weight loss and more importantly decrease the likelihood of cardiovascular disease. Weight loss is only successful if health benefits accommodate the change in body composition. Exercise is the single most effective method of improving one’s health and overall functionality. With diet alone you create a lifestyle change that in most cases cannot be sustained. Self-esteem, cardiovascular function, metabolism, and habit are solidified through exercise. Ultimately, the absence of exercise accompanying these diets leads to failure and in some cases more problems long-term. The question is, how do we create lifestyles that incorporate exercise long-term so these diets can truly be utilized for their purpose? Now that’s a whole other article that is even more complex than this issue…
Link to Huffington Post Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/does-dieting-work_b_2253565…
Is Dieting Worth the Trouble?
Dieting. By now everyone accepts that this is a fundamental, if dreaded, foundation for weight loss and health. But a surprising recent development in dieting research indicates that, at least for cardiovascular disease -- the No. 1…
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