Yo-Yo Dieting

BALTIMORE (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- More than 65 percent of the population is overweight. Many have tried a laundry list of diets to get the weight off. Even when they work, the results are often short-lived and the weight comes back with a vengeance, but some experts think there is some good that comes out of those yo-yo diets.

Whether it's the South Beach Diet, Atkins or the Zone, chances are you've tried more than one diet. Lawrence Cheskin, M.D., a nutrition expert at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, says most fad diets don't hold their weight. While people may shed pounds initially, the weight usually returns. "It's less likely to be sustained if you're taking off weight so rapidly that you're not really learning anything from it," he tells Ivanhoe.

But that yo-yo dieting may not be all bad. "It's better to be down half the time than not to be down at all, because for at least for that period of time, your health risks are reduced," Dr. Cheskin says.

Several studies confirm weight cycling is not harmful. But keeping the weight off is the goal. Just ask Leonard Dickstein. He says: "I always wanted to lose weight. I always, within six months of taking off the weight, started putting back. Probably within the year I was weighing more than from the point at which I started to diet."

One way to keep off the weight is to simply cut calories. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. If you cut 500 calories a day in one week, you'd cut out the necessary 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat.

Dickstein says, "It's now been three years since I've lost the weight. Over that three-year period, I've managed to keep the weight off, thank God." And he's kicked fad diets to the curb. He cuts calories and exercises and now is 70 pounds lighter.

To keep weight off, first find your triggers. If you're a stress eater, try yoga instead of food. If you're a social eater, keep a diet drink in your hand at get-togethers and keep your distance from the food tables.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Lawrence Cheskin, M.D.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, MD
(410) 847-3744