We often rely on fad diets and crash diets in order to lose weight and stay healthy and fit. But we generally forget that the lure of quick results with minimal effort can be extremely dangerous for our health. These fad diets may give you desired results in short period of time, but may wreak havoc on your health in the long term. Health experts and nutritionists around the world always recommend including all the food groups and nutrients in our diet. Since these fad diets do not include all the essential nutrients, they may lead to various serious health conditions. One such fad diet is Yo-yo dieting (also known as weight cycling, or the cyclical loss), which, according to researchers, can make it difficult for women to control heart disease risk factors.
The researchers found that women who have lost 10 pounds (post following yo-yo diet) and regained weight within a year were more at risk of having heart-related troubles. Health experts always advice to maintain a healthy weight, as having a consistent body weight helps lowering heart disease risks.
Previous research found some similar results in men. The ones who followed yo-yo dieting were at double risk of having cardiovascular diseases and in some cases even death in middle age. "Achieving a healthy weight is generally recommended as heart healthy but maintaining weight loss is difficult and fluctuations in weight may make it harder to achieve ideal cardiovascular health," said Brooke Aggarwal, Assistant Professor at Columbia University in New York. The results of the study were presented at the American Heart Association's EPI Lifestyle Scientific Sessions 2019 in Texas.
For the study, the team observed 485 women (average age 37 years with average BMI 26). These women were asked to report the fluctuation in their weight (excluding during pregnancies) - at least 10 pounds - within a year. Around 73 percent of the women reported at least one episode of yo-yo weight loss, with a range of zero to 20 episodes. These women were assessed on American Heart Association's 'Life's Simple 7' -- a measure of how well people control major heart disease risk factors, including body mass index, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, smoking, physical activity and diet. The more episodes of weight cycling women reported, the poorer they scored on 'Life's Simple 7', according to the researchers.
With Inputs From IANS