Solution to Dieting: A Focus on Health
Solution to Dieting: A Focus on Health
Joy Stepinski, MSN, RN-BC
January 3, 2025
During the holiday season, we often think about socializing with friends and family, stunning buffet spreads, and imbibing our favorite drink. By the time New Year’s arrives, we promise to lose weight and not consume such rich foods again. Sound familiar? The Economic Times reports that only 16% of people follow resolutions [1], most abandoning their new goal within six weeks. In this respect, New Year’s promises to “go on a diet” are not a long-term solution for effectively losing weight. Yet there is another answer. Despite failed approaches to weight loss, focusing on health without endless dieting and food deprivation can be a successful strategy.
Last month we looked at the alarming implications of obesity. With the higher prevalence of obesity, the frequency of dieting has also risen [2]. Obesity-related publications have increased exponentially in the past two decades [3]. Approximately 40% of adults have endeavored to diet in five years. Although a plethora of weight-loss education and advertised dieting programs exists, the obesity rate continues to skyrocket. There are endless choices for losing weight by dieting (i.e., Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, keto diet) and drugs. Unfortunately, with more tools available, the impact is fruitless. Concentrating on body weight has not resulted in a healthier society.
To make matters more complicated, research has demonstrated that about one-third of people trying to lose weight actually regain the extra pounds [2]. Other studies show that dieting may predict future obesity and weight gain. One example of Finnish research used data from 2000 and 2011 health surveys with a follow-up health examination. In total, 2,785 subjects aged 30 – 69 participated. The results showed that people of normal weight who intentionally dieted experienced an increased body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference than non-dieters of normal weight [4]. A potential mechanism may be the body attempting to compensate for the loss of lean tissue by stimulating overeating until the recovery of the tissue occurs.
Significant increases or decreases in weight are called weight cycling, often as a result of dieting. Studies suggest that weight cycling can be harmful [5]. The effects are several. Weight gain, particularly in the abdominal region, can result in insulin resistance. Instability in blood pressure and heart rate, along with glucose and lipid levels, can strain the heart and cause injury to blood vessels. Fluctuation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), an indication of kidney function, can lead to kidney damage. Research links weight cycling with diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and increased mortality.
Struggling with weight is not merely a physical condition. Focusing on weight loss may damage mental health [3]. Those trying to lose weight often feel defeated because they cannot maintain a thin body. As a result, an obsession with food and body image occurs. The cycling of losing and regaining weight becomes persistent. People may experience weight stigmatization, eating disorders, and low self-esteem.
What is the solution? Instead of having a mindset on weight loss, focusing on developing a healthier lifestyle may be a far better strategy [3]. “Our lack of success to reverse the trend in obesity prevalence has helped us in realizing that a focus on weight loss as an indicator of success is not only ineffective at producing thinner, healthier bodies, but also damaging, contributing to food and body preoccupation, repeated cycles of weight loss and regain, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders, and weight stigmatization and discrimination” (p. 681).
Intuitive eating can be of great benefit [6]. Instead of concentrating on dieting, good versus bad food, or trying to ignore hunger feelings, emphasis is placed on the positive aspects of eating. Examples include paying attention to feeling hungry, selecting palatable and enjoyable foods, and eating until satiated. Using one’s senses, the texture, scent, flavor, and appearance of the food is the focus [7]. One meta-analysis showed that intuitive eating was inversely associated with poor body image, eating disorders, and mental health conditions (i.e., anxiety and depression) [6].
Focusing on a healthy lifestyle is multifaceted. Nutrition is a large factor, but other aspects are just as important. Body image may play a larger role in health than a person’s actual body size [7]. “Self-acceptance is a cornerstone of self-care, meaning that people with strong self-esteem are more likely to adopt positive health behaviors” (p. 7). Contributing behaviors include exercise, proper hydration, sufficient sunlight exposure, sleep, attitude, and managing toxic thoughts and stress levels. This year we will focus on some of these aspects and delve more deeply into nutrition next month.
References:
1. The Economic Times. (2022). Why is it so difficult to stick to resolutions? Six reasons why you fail to follow. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/how-to/six-reasons-why-your-new-year-resolutions-dont-work/articleshow/88658576.cms
2. Jacquet, P., Schutz, Y., Montani, J. P., & Dulloo, A. (2020). How dieting might make some fatter: Modeling weight cycling toward obesity from a perspective of body composition autoregulation. International Journal of Obesity, 44, 1243 – 1253. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0547-1
3. Chaput, J. P., Doucet, E., & Tremblay, A. (2012). Obesity: a disease or a biological adaptation? An update. Obesity Reviews, 13(8), 681-691. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.00992.x
4. Sares‐Jäske, L., Knekt, P., Männistö, S., Lindfors, O., & Heliövaara, M. (2019). Self‐report dieting and long‐term changes in body mass index and waist circumference. Obesity Science & Practice, 5(4), 291-303. https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.336 c
5. Lee, S. H., Kim, M. K., & Rhee, E. J. (2020). Effects of cardiovascular risk factor variability on health outcomes. Endocrinology and Metabolism, 35(2), 217-226. https://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2020.35.2.217
6. Linardon, J., Tylka, T. L., & Fuller‐Tyszkiewicz, M. (2021). Intuitive eating and its psychological correlates: A meta‐analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(7), 1073-1098. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23509
7. Bacon, L., & Aphramor, L. (2011). Weight science: Evaluating the evidence for a paradigm shift. Nutrition Journal, 10(9). https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9