NUCCA News - Yo-yo dieting not deadly, study finds

Monday, December 9, 2002 Posted: 4:03 PM EST (2103 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Weight cycling, where a dieter's weight fluctuates up and down, does not itself increase the risk of dying, British researchers said on Monday.

However those who try -- and fail -- to keep the fat off more often suffer from preexisting illnesses and poor habits that have already put them at higher risk of death, a report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine said.

In the 22-year study of 5,608 middle-aged British men, researchers found those who had lost weight or whose weight had fluctuated did suffer higher mortality rates than those whose weight remained stable. But after excluding men with preexisting diseases, the gap in mortality rates narrowed.

"There is no firm evidence that weight loss or weight fluctuation in otherwise healthy individuals is hazardous, and authorities should continue to encourage and facilitate healthy eating and regular moderate physical activity toward the prevention and management of overweight and obesity," wrote researcher Goya Wannamethee of the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London.

In another study on the weight-related health of middle-aged men appearing in the journal, which is published by the American Medical Association, Boston researchers concluded that being overweight raises the risk of suffering a stroke.

An examination of 12-1/2 years of data on 21,414 participants in Brigham and Women's Hospital's Physician's Health Study found that with every increase of one point in body mass index, the risk of stroke increased 6 percent.

After heart disease and cancer, stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of long-term disability.

"These results suggest that individuals and their physicians should consider increased risk of stroke another hazard of obesity," study author Tobias Kurth wrote.