What’s better: Crash diets or a healthy, gradual diet?
While most nutritionists say gradual diets, a new study published in The Lancet says you may be better off crash dieting.
“We now know that there are several ways of losing weight,” says Gaynor Bussell, a public health nutritionist and dietitian. “There may well be a role for using rapid weight loss diets in some people, but it is important to consider how weight loss will be maintained after the diet is over.”
Researchers initially decided to compare how dieters maintained their weight over the long term after following either a crash or gradual diet. In previous studies, crash diets were rarely associated with positive outcomes–and oftentimes, people gained all of the weight back.
Not in this study, however.
Splitting 200 obese adults into two groups, participants either ate a 800 calorie diet or a diet where the caloric amount was gradually decreased for a period of 12 to 36 weeks. Not surprisingly, by the end of this diet period, those who went on a crash diet lost the most weight.
Then researchers decided to follow up with their progress three years after the study–to shocking results. While both groups gained back some of the weight they lost, those who had crash dieted ended up keeping more weight off.
For researcher Katrina Purcell, it’s proof that losing weight fast doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll gain it back more quickly.
“The widely held belief that fast weight loss is more quickly regained had not been borne out by [our] findings,” says Purcell. “Achieving a weight loss target of 12.5 percent is more likely, and drop-out is lower, is losing weight is done quickly.”
In turn, researchers say crash diets may have even more advantages, such as forcing the body to burn more fat, especially if people consume few carbohydrates. And for obese people that need to lose weight, speeding up the process could mean the difference between life and death–a lifesaver for most.
“The findings are important,” says Susan Jebb, a University of Oxford professor of diet and population health. “[It would] enable professionals to recommend a broader range of treatment options so that people may be more likely to find the one that is best suited to their lifestyle.”
What This Means For You
If you’re morbidly obese and desperately need to lose weight, going on a crash diet could be a lifesaver–but make sure to do it under the guidance of a healthcare professional. While it may slim you down faster, doing so can also be dangerous as it drastically reduces your intake of essential vitamins and minerals, say researchers.
Readers: Have you tried a crash diet before?
Sources:
Crash Diets Might Not Be So Bad After All, Suggests New Study – Independent.co.uk
Another Diet Myth Exploded: Gradual Weight Loss No Better Than Rapid Weight Loss – Forbes.com
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