The Unhealthy Truth About Dieting
A recent study conducted by researchers at UCLA and published in the April journal of the American Psychological Association is changing the way people look at dieting. The UCLA study, which analyzed 31 qualifying long-term diet studies, was the most comprehensive analysis of diet studies ever conducted. According to the UCLA researchers, any number of diets can result in a person losing five to ten percent of their weight in the short term. However, sustained weight loss was found only in a small minority of participants, with complete weight regain found in the majority. The UCLA team’s conclusion: diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or healthy benefits for the majority of people.
Another finding of the UCLA study is that between one-third to two-thirds of people on diets regain more weight than they initially lost within four or five years. In fact, one of the greatest predictors of future weight gain found by the UCLA team was having previously lost weight on a diet. “Yo-yo dieting”, the cycle of losing weight, gaining it back, losing it again, and so on, is also a common occurrence for dieters. Substantial evidence has linked repeated weight loss and gain to strokes, altered immune function, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
If dieting is so universally ineffective, why are we inundated with so many commercials, books, websites, and programs that promise to hold the secret to weight loss? Simply put, because so many Americans are searching for solutions to their problem with excess weight; and, unfortunately many people are intoxicated by the idea of a “quick fix.” The truth is that there is no successful quick fix for long-term weight loss. In fact, there are only two proven ways to achieve healthy and sustained weight loss: eating less and exercising more.
Why Do Diets Fail?
The simple goal of most diets is admirable: reduce caloric intake. There is strong evidence that most people, regardless of if they are overweight or not, can experience health benefits and even certain anti-aging benefits from a reduced-calorie diet.
According to Edward Weiss, Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences and lead author of a study on the subject of calorie reduction, "There is plenty of evidence that calorie restriction can reduce your risks for many common diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. And you may live to be substantially older."
The problem is that many diets promote unhealthy eating habits that can border on starvation or prevent people from getting adequate nutrients due to the types of food restricted. Conversely, other diet plans are well constructed and do promote effective habits; so not all diets are inherently bad. As research has proven, however, even well intentioned diets will ultimately fail in helping people achieve their ultimate goal of sustainable weight loss. The question is: why? Part of the answer is that, for many Americans, altering lifelong eating habits can be difficult and not necessarily just a function of a lack of willpower.
According to Dr. Ed Saltzman, Medical Director of the Obesity Consult Center at Tufts-New England Medical Center, “…there are multiple and powerful systems (within the body, the mind, and the environment) that contribute to food intake and body weight. For many – if not most – people, it is unreasonable to assume that the composition of the diet alone can overpower those other systems in the long term. Hence, there is a real need for dietary, behavioral, emotional, spiritual, and environmental components to obesity treatment.”
Proven Alternatives to Dieting
There is a growing consensus among the medical and science communities, based on a wealth of research, that:
a) Reducing caloric intake in a healthy manner is a necessary component for weight loss;
b) A reduced calorie diet can promote many significant health benefits;
c) Diets alone do not work as a strategy for sustainable calorie reduction or weight loss.
Fortunately, legitimate alternatives to dieting are becoming more readily available to millions of Americans thanks to recent innovations in weight loss surgery. Advancements in weight loss surgery techniques have made the procedure itself less invasive, more flexible, and increasingly cost-effective. Weight loss surgery programs that include Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding and comprehensive aftercare, like the Lap-Band surgery program provided by iVital, are one example.
One of the results of any weight loss surgery that reduces the size of the stomach is that people are compelled to eat less. While a patient will reach a sense of fullness faster, which makes a reduction in eating more manageable from a physiological perspective, eating less is not otherwise inherently easier simply as a function of the surgery. What is needed is an expertly designed aftercare program that is personalized for each individual based upon his or her current situation and weight loss goals. An aftercare programs should also include regular consultations with nutritionists, physiologists, and psychologists that will provide the support necessary to stick with the changes in eating habits that are the goal of any weight loss surgery or, for that matter, any diet.
This is where most diets fail.
Maintaining motivation, understanding the unique aspects of a person’s physical composition, and dealing with the underlying psychological reasons why people eat are all necessary components of a successful weight loss program. Weight loss surgery, combined with an aftercare program that incorporates these components, has become the safest and most proven path to weight loss. For many weight loss surgery patients, the increased energy and improved physical health that they experience as a result of the procedure can also be the first step towards another tremendous health improvement: incorporating exercise into their daily routine.
The ultimate goal for any person struggling with excess weight should be to find a solution that has a proven history of safe and sustainable success by promoting a healthy reduction in calories and an increased amount of physical activity. Weight loss surgery programs like the Lap-Band surgery and aftercare program provided by iVital are one of these proven solutions. Attend an iVital Weight Loss Seminar to find out if Lap-Band surgery is right for you in your quest to improve your life through healthy weight loss; but most importantly, find a solution. Simply dieting, as proven by the consistent evidence showing the ineffectiveness of diets, is not an adequate solution.
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Sources:
Comprehensive UCLA study on dieting
St. Louis University research on benefits of calorie restriction
Scientific American Frontiers Report from PBS.org
iVital, based in Dallas, specializes in weight loss surgery programs that combine Laparoscopic Gastric Banding Surgery (LAGB), utilizing the Lap-Band, with comprehensive Lap-Band surgery aftercare. iVital is an expert in Lap-Band surgery and an industry leader in developing a personalized MyVital Plan for each patient that provides focused bariatric guidance to ensure long-term weight loss success.
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