A new qualitative study focuses on the interpersonal and psychological negative effects of “yo-yo dieting” or weight cycling. This piece highlights the dangers of yo-yo dieting and how difficult it is for people to break out of that pattern. “Yo-yo dieting, or unintentionally gaining weight and going on a diet to lose it, only to then gain it back and start the cycle again, is pervasive in American culture, and is a phenomenon in which people gain beauty “As we pursue our ideals, fad diets, quick weight loss plans and drugs become the norm,” said Lindsey, corresponding author of the study and an associate professor in the School of Communication at North Carolina State University.・Mr. Romo says.
“Based on what we have learned through this study and existing research, we recommend that most people avoid dieting unless it is medically necessary. It also provides insight into how to combat negative aspects and challenge the cycle.” ”
For the study, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 36 adults (13 men and 23 women) who had experienced weight cycling and had lost or regained more than 11 pounds. The goal was to learn more about why and how people got into yo-yo dieting cycles, and how they were able to break out of them, if they were able to do so.
All study participants reported wanting to lose weight because of social stigma regarding their weight and/or because they were comparing their weight to the weight of celebrities or peers. “Overwhelmingly, participants didn't start dieting for health reasons, but because they felt social pressure to lose weight,” Romo says. Study participants also reported that they engaged in various weight loss strategies, resulting in initial weight loss but eventually gaining it back.
Once the weight was regained, people felt shame and further internalized weight-related stigma, leading study participants to feel worse about themselves than before they started the diet. As a result, people often resort to increasingly extreme actions in an attempt to lose weight again.
“For example, many participants reported binge drinking, emotional eating, food and calorie restriction, memorizing calorie counts, stressing about what they were eating or the number on the scale, and resorting to stopgap solutions (e.g. “To help you lose weight faster, it's important to avoid low-carbohydrate diets and diet pills), excessive exercise, and social events that involve food,” says Romo. “Inevitably, these dieting behaviors became unsustainable, and the participants gained back the weight, often more than they had originally lost.”
“Almost all of the study participants became obsessed with their weight,” says study co-author Caitlin Mueller, a graduate student at North Carolina State University. “Losing weight became the focus of their lives, to the point where they were distracted from spending time with friends, family, co-workers, and reducing weight gain temptations such as drinking and overeating.”
“Participants referred to the experience as an addiction or a vicious cycle,” Romo said. “Those who were able to understand and address their harmful dieting behaviors were successful in breaking the cycle. Strategies people used to combat these harmful behaviors include focusing on themselves, not the number on the scale. This included focusing on my health and exercising for fun, rather than counting the number of calories I burned.
“Rather than treating eating as something that needs to be closely monitored, controlled, and punished, participants who successfully challenge this cycle are encouraged to engage in healthy eating habits, such as eating a variety of meals and eating when they're hungry. However, the researchers found that the majority of study participants were stuck in this cycle.
“Deep-rooted thought patterns, societal expectations, toxic diets, and pervasive weight bias combine to make it difficult for people to fully break out of the cycle, even when they want to. “We're doing it,” Romo said.
“Ultimately, this study shows that weight cycling is a negative practice that can cause real harm to people,” Romo says. “Our findings suggest that it may be harmful for people to start dieting unless it is medically necessary.” , participants inadvertently suffer from years of shame, body dissatisfaction, unhappiness, stress, social comparison, and weight-related obsessions. It’s very difficult to avoid a lifelong struggle.”
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