Yo-yo dieting is a term in reference to the cyclical loss and gain of weight, resembling the up-down motion of a yo-yo.
Obesity is becoming increasingly widespread everywhere, and so are a variety of dieting options. Many people who lose weight, however, quickly regain it. New research suggests that rapidly and repeatedly losing and regaining weight may increase the risk of death from heart disease.
A new study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2016 suggests yo-yo dieting may increase the risk of death from heart disease among older women of normal weight.
For the study, Dr. Rasla and team divided 158,063 postmenopausal women into four categories: stable weight, steady gain, maintained weight loss, and weight cycling.
They followed up on the participants for 11.4 years and found that women who had a normal weight at the beginning of the study but then lost and regained weight had a much higher risk of sudden cardiac death, compared with women who kept a stable weight throughout the period.
In fact, women of normal weight who subsequently experienced the yo-yo effect were 3.5 times more likely to die from sudden cardiac arrest than women whose weight remained stable.
Evidence in this study suggests that being overweight in midlife increases the risk of death from two types of heart disease: coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death.
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