A brand new qualitative research focuses on the damaging interpersonal and psychological repercussions of ‘yo-yo weight-reduction plan,’ or weight biking. The work emphasises the hazards of yo-yo weight-reduction plan and the way tough it’s for individuals to flee the sample. “Yo-yo dieting – unintentionally gaining weight and dieting to lose weight only to gain it back and restart the cycle – is a prevalent part of American culture, with fad diets and lose-weight-quick plans or drugs normalized as people pursue beauty ideals,” says Lynsey Romo, corresponding writer of a paper on the research and an affiliate professor of communication at North Carolina State University.
“Based on what we learned through this study, as well as the existing research, we recommend that most people avoid dieting unless it is medically necessary. Our study also offers insights into how people can combat insidious aspects of weight cycling and challenge the cycle.”
For the research, researchers performed in-depth interviews with 36 adults – 13 males and 23 ladies – who had skilled weight biking the place they misplaced and regained greater than 11 kilos. The objective was to study extra about why and the way individuals entered the yo-yo weight-reduction plan cycle and the way, if in any respect, they have been in a position to get out of it.
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All the research members reported desirous to reduce weight resulting from social stigma associated to their weight, and/or as a result of they have been evaluating their weight to that of celebrities or friends. “Overwhelmingly, participants did not start dieting for health reasons, but because they felt social pressure to lose weight,” Romo says.
The research members additionally reported participating in quite a lot of weight-loss methods, which resulted in preliminary weight reduction, however eventual regain.
Regaining weight led individuals to really feel disgrace and additional internalize the stigma related to weight – leaving research members feeling worse about themselves than they did earlier than they started weight-reduction plan. This, in flip, typically leads individuals to interact in more and more excessive behaviours to attempt to reduce weight once more.
“For instance, many participants engaged in disordered weight management behaviours, such as binge or emotional eating, restricting food and calories, memorizing calorie counts, being stressed about what they were eating and the number on the scale, falling back on quick fixes (such as low-carb diets or diet drugs), overexercising, and avoiding social events with food to drop pounds fast,” says Romo. “Inevitably, these diet behaviours became unsustainable, and participants regained weight, often more than they had initially lost.”
“Almost all of the study participants became obsessed with their weight,” says Katelin Mueller, co-author of the research and graduate pupil at NC State. “Weight loss became a focal point for their lives, to the point that it distracted them from spending time with friends, family, and colleagues and reducing weight-gain temptations such as drinking and overeating. Participants referred to the experience as an addiction or a vicious cycle,” Romo says. “Individuals who have been in a position to perceive and handle their poisonous weight-reduction plan behaviours have been extra profitable at breaking the cycle. Strategies individuals used to fight these poisonous behaviours included specializing in their well being somewhat than the quantity on the size, in addition to exercising for enjoyable, somewhat than counting the variety of energy they burned.
“Participants who were more successful at challenging the cycle were also able to embrace healthy eating behaviours – such as eating a varied diet and eating when they were hungry – rather than treating eating as something that needs to be closely monitored, controlled or punished.” However, the researchers discovered the overwhelming majority of research members caught within the cycle. “The combination of ingrained thought patterns, societal expectations, toxic diet culture, and pervasive weight stigma makes it difficult for people to completely exit the cycle, even when they want to,” Romo says. “Ultimately, this study tells us that weight cycling is a negative practice that can cause people real harm,” Romo says. “Our findings suggest that it can be damaging for people to begin dieting unless it is medically necessary. Dieting to meet some perceived societal standard inadvertently set participants up for years of shame, body dissatisfaction, unhappiness, stress, social comparisons, and weight-related preoccupation. Once a diet has begun, it is very difficult for many people to avoid a lifelong struggle with their weight.”
Source: zeenews.india.com
