Question: What is Weight Cycling?
Answer: Weight cycling -- the repeated loss and regain of body weight -- sometimes happens to people who repeatedly go on and off diets. In the past, weight cycling was commonly referred to as "yo-yo dieting" or crash dieting.
Does Weight Cycling Pose Health Risks?
At this time, it is unclear whether or not weight cycling itself leads directly to any health problems; experts need to learn more about it. However, there may be a link between weight cycling and high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or gallbladder disease.According to the National Institutes of Health, a study showed that other problems may be linked to weight cycling: Women who weight cycle were shown to gain more weight over time than women who do not weight cycle. The same study also showed women who weight cycle are less likely to use physical activity to control their weight.
Binge eating may also be linked to women who weight cycle. Weight cycling may affect your mental health too, making you more likely to feel depressed about your weight.
Does Weight Cycling Increase Fat?
Overall, studies do not suggest that fat tissue increases due to weight cycling, but some evidence suggests women who are overweight and have a history of weight cycling have thicker layers of abdominal fat as compared to women who do not have a history of weight cycling. Most people who weight cycle do eventually gain back the weight they lose.Source:
Weight-control Information Network. WIN - Publication - Weight Cycling. May 2008. http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/cycling.htm
