Although Increasingly, the public weight loss debate is recommending lifestyle changes aimed at weight management instead of miracle diets, with many still looking for quick solutions to their weight problems.
Especially for normal weight people, it is rarely worthwhile, says the recent Doctoral Research of the University of Helsinki.
According to it, weight loss companies of normal weight increase the risk of gaining weight in the long run. In an 11-year follow-up study, those who had reported losing weight at the start of the study in the previous year were more likely to gain weight than those who had not lost weight.
Weight loss during the previous year was also associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The risk of diabetes was highlighted in dieters with unhealthy lifestyles.
If dieting is implemented with unfavorable lifestyles, permanent weight management can be difficult, says the Master of Food Science Laura Sares-Jske.
Laura Sares-Jske. Picture: Marko Mkinen
In her dissertation, which will be reviewed on Thursday, she examined the link between dieting and several background factors, as well as the long-term link between obesity and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Sares-Jskes research is based on the nationally representative Health 2000 survey and the follow-up Health 2011 follow-up survey. The study sample included more than eight thousand respondents over the age of 30.
follow-up study initially, it was mapped who had tried to lose weight the previous year and how the weight of participants had changed over the past year.
Of the Sares-Jske data, 39 per cent of women and 24 per cent of men had tried to lose weight, and 15 per cent of all women and 10 per cent of men had succeeded.
Overall, it seemed that those of normal weight who have tried to lose weight gained more weight during the 11-year follow-up than those who had not tried to lose weight.
Obesity was reflected in both an increase in their body mass index and an increase in their waist circumference. A similar difference in weight gain between those who lost weight and those who did not lose weight was not observed in those who were obese according to their body mass index at the start of the study. Initially, weight gain during follow-up of obese dieters appeared to be the most moderate of the groups examined.
Women lose weight more often than men, even at normal weights.
The study foundthat women lose weight more often than men, even at normal weights. According to Sares-Jsken, it would appear that men do not lose weight until they have actually become overweight or have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis or other diseases.
Men may lose weight only when there is a reason, women do it on a lower threshold.
Weight loss was more common among the higher educated. Sares-Jske thinks that those with higher education may, on average, have better health knowledge and a stronger should lose weight mindset than those with less education.
Dieters had a weaker sense of life control and more health concerns than those who did not lose weight.
Sares-Jsken according to dieters in the survey section of the study reported on average healthier lifestyles than those who did not lose weight. Dieters, on the other hand, also had less favorable blood fat values, a weaker sense of life control, and more appearance and health concerns than those who did not lose weight.
In the study, 417 people developed type 2 diabetes during 15 years of registry follow-up. The risk of developing the disease was higher in those who had lost weight in the previous year compared to those who had not lost weight. The risk was particularly pronounced if the dieters lifestyle was unhealthy.
The subjects usual food and nutrition choices were determined by a validated diet questionnaire. Based on the data obtained, an index describing the healthiness of the diet was formed, according to which the subjects were divided into five groups.
Dieters in the unhealthy diet category had the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes during follow-up. The results also showed an indicative increase in the risk of diabetes in dieters who moved or slept the least.
The bodys biological mechanisms work to prevent weight loss and promote weight gain.
Where from Could it be that dieters gain weight more than those who did not lose weight?
The bodys biological mechanisms tend to prevent weight loss and promote re-gaining weight, even above baseline.
At the population level, independent dieting may not work very long-term, and especially those on strict or very restrictive diets are often more prone to bursting, says Sares-Jske.
Previous studies have shown that often those who fail to lose weight tend to lose weight again and again, i.e. they can become so-called yo-yo dieters. Therefore, moderate weight loss based on a healthy lifestyle and aiming for permanent weight management is preferable to immediate courses.
Especially during fast weight loss regimens, there is a tendency to strike muscle tissue. If a dieter regains weight, the muscle mass lost through weight loss may be effectively replaced by adipose tissue. Therefore, to regain weight, the fat percentage may be higher than at the start of a weight loss regimen after the fat has replaced the lost muscle mass.
According to Sares-Jske, it is also possible that re-weighted dieters are initially at higher risk of gaining weight and becoming ill due to other factors, such as heredity. They may have sought to lose weight to combat the existing risk.
Instead of losing weight, you could take a weight-neutral approach to living a healthy life.
There was obesity whatever the underlying reason, Sares-Jske points out that living a particularly restrictive diet is very difficult to live long.
Few can live the rest of their lives that way, it requires an inhumanly strong character.
Normal-weight people should try to focus on adopting a healthy lifestyle instead of losing weight so that they remain at a normal weight in the future.
When you stick to a healthy, protein-rich diet and strength training with slow weight loss, your muscles dont lose that fast either.
Lifestyle changes dont always have to think about losing weight. Instead, one could take a weight-neutral approach aimed at living a healthy life.
When losing weight slowly and moderately, there is also room in the diet for occasional delicacies.
However, if there is a medical reason for dieting, it should be implemented with healthy lifestyle changes, ie investing in healthy health, increased exercise and adequate sleep, according to Sares-Jske. It would be essential to aim for permanent weight management.
Still, losing weight doesnt have to be boring and miserable. Sares-Jske emphasizes that when dieting slowly and moderately, there is room in the diet for ones own preferences and also for occasional delicacies.
Finding a lifestyle change, or preferably more, that also brings joy in addition to health benefits will also help in lifestyle change.
