The Problem With Diets

The biggest problem with dieting is that people who "go on a diet" eventually go off the diet and regain any weight they have lost. Some studies show that only a very small percentage of dieters maintain their target weight over a year, regardless of the type of diet followed.

Some people claim dieting can actually worsen obesity. The typical scenario: an overweight person begins a low-calorie diet and loses several pounds. After a few weeks the dieter may reach a plateau where no weight loss occurs. Soon overwhelmed with cravings, the dieter splurges (e.g. on a piece of pie), gains a pound or two, and then "goes off" the diet in despair. This pattern feeds into weight cycling (see weight-cycling).

• Dieters tend to go off the diet and regain lost weight.
• Only a very small percentage maintain target weight over a year, regardless of diet type.
• Dieting may worsen obesity in some people.
• Typical failure path: initial loss → plateau → cravings → splurge → quitting in despair.

• weight-cycling — the loss-and-regain cycle this produces.
• changing-ideas-food-fat-fitness — the alternative to dieting.
• psychological-deprivation — the emotional drivers of diet failure.