Weight loss followed by weight regain, commonly known as “yo‑yo dieting” or weight cycling, is often portrayed as harmful, even more damaging than remaining overweight. But a new comprehensive analysis published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology suggests this widely held belief is not supported by strong scientific evidence.
In an invited Personal View, Professors Faidon Magkos from the University of Copenhagen and Norbert Stefan from the German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), the University Hospital Tübingen and Helmholtz Munich, critically examine decades of research on weight cycling in humans and animals. Their conclusion: there is no convincing causal evidence that weight cycling itself leads to long‑term harm in patients with obesity.
“Many people struggling with weight are discouraged from trying to lose weight because they fear ‘yo‑yo dieting’ will lead to muscle loss and somehow damage their metabolism,” says Prof. Magkos. “Our review indicates that these fears are largely unsupported. In most cases, the benefits of trying to lose weight clearly outweigh the theoretical risks of weight cycling.”
Visit: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(26)00037-9/abstract