This 2011 review by Bacon and Aphramor critiques the conventional weight-centric approach to health, highlighting its limited long-term efficacy and potential harms, including weight cycling, psychological distress, and stigmatization. The authors advocate for the Health at Every Size (HAES) paradigm, which emphasizes health behaviors over weight loss. Evidence from randomized
This 2007 review article critically examines the long-term efficacy of calorie-restricting diets in treating obesity. The authors found that one-third to two-thirds of dieters regain more weight than they initially lost, highlighting the limited sustainability of such interventions. Methodological issues in existing studies, such as low follow-up rates and reliance
This review examines the paradoxical outcomes of dieting, highlighting that a significant proportion of individuals regain lost weight within five years, with some surpassing their initial weight. The authors explore mechanisms such as metabolic adaptations, hormonal changes, and behavioral factors contributing to weight regain. The phenomenon of “catch-up fat” is
