Pathways from dieting to weight regain, to obesity and to the metabolic syndrome: an overview

Abstract

SummaryEvery year, scores of millions of people -as diverse as obese and lean, teenagers and older adults, sedentary and elite athletes, commoners and celebrities -attempt to lose weight on some form of diet. They are often encouraged by their parents, friends, health professionals, training coaches, a media that promotes a slim image and a diet-industry that in Europe and United States alone has an annual turnover in excess of $150 billion. Weight regain is generally the rule, with one-third to two-thirds of the weight lost being regained within 1 year and almost all is regained within 5 years. With studies of the long-term outcomes showing that at least one-third of dieters regain more weight than they lost, together with prospective studies indicating that dieting during childhood and adolescence predicts future weight gain and obesity, there is concern as to whether dieting may paradoxically be promoting exactly the opposite of what it is intended to achieve. Does dieting really make people fatter? How? Does dieting increase the risks for cardiometabolic diseases as many go through repeated cycles of intentional weight loss and unintentional weight regain, i.e. through yo-yo dieting or weight cycling? What's new in adipose tissue biology pertaining to the mechanisms that drive weight regain? Why does exercise not necessarily work in concert with dieting to achieve weight loss and prevent weight regain? What 'lessons' are we learning from bariatric surgery about the mechanisms by which long-term weight loss seems achievable? It is these questions, against a background of preoccupation with dieting, that recent advances and controversies relevant to the theme of 'Pathways from dieting to weight regain, to obesity and to the metabolic syndrome' are addressed in this overview and the eight review articles in this supplement reporting the proceedings of the 7th Fribourg Obesity Research Conference.

Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and the metabolic syndrome in British men

“…The umbrella term MetS is associated with oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance; it has been well established that exercise and increased physical activity are able to boost antioxidant capacity and induce anti-inflammatory effects 27. Exercise training positively regulates fat and glucose metabolism and improves both blood pressure control and insulin action 28…”

Physical Activity and Sarcopenic Obesity: Definition, Assessment, Prevalence and Mechanism

“…SO, however, can also occur in young adults. For example, due to repetitive extreme diet for weight loss (yo-yo diet) following excessive caloric restriction and unbalanced diet, which may cause muscle loss, weight regain and obesity [66]. However, fat distribution may be different in SO in older adults with more intramuscular (fat infiltration into muscle) [28,67] and visceral fat increase and subcutaneous fat decrease with aging [68].…”

Quality of life and psychological well‐being in obesity management: improving the odds of success by managing distress

“…Many individuals with obesity get stuck in a cycle of ‘yo‐yo dieting,’ where any weight lost with a given intervention is soon regained. This cycle can be mediated for many by the distress associated with not achieving either the desired amount of weight loss or the desired body shape . These experiences often colour the patients’ attitudes towards and persistence with any future management strategies , especially as QoL may ‘yo‐yo’ along with weight .…”