Dieters have long been warned against repeatedly gaining and losing weight, often called yo-yo dieting or weight cycling.
It’s bad for our bodies and potentially worse than staying overweight — or so the thinking goes.
A new study by researchers in Denmark and Germany finds, however, that the dangers of such up-and-down dieting might be overblown.
The researchers examined decades of research involving humans and animals and found no convincing evidence that weight cycling causes long-term harm in those with obesity.
For years, weight cycling has been tied to health concerns like muscle loss, slowed metabolism and higher risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The researchers pored over observational studies, clinical trials and animal studies focused on repeated weight loss and gain. They examined how weight cycling affects weight, body composition, metabolism and blood sugar.
They found no strong evidence that up-and-down dieting is responsible for gradual long-term weight gain, muscle loss or metabolism deceleration.
Regaining weight can unravel many of the benefits of weight loss, including lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar.
But that does not necessarily mean a dieter will be less healthy than they were before losing weight.
The study comes at a time when many are using obesity medications to lose weight but seeing the weight creep back when they stop taking them.
The researchers said that weight gain should not automatically be seen as harmful. Even temporary weight loss can bring important health benefits.
The bottom line? Climbing back on the horse might be better than abandoning it altogether after all.