Angela Onwuzoo A new study has warned of the negative consequences associated with dieting for beauty reasons instead of health. The qualitative study recommends that people avoid dieting unless it is medically necessary. It underscores how toxic dieting can be and how difficult it can be for people to break the cycle.
The researchers from North Carolina State University conducted in-depth interviews with 36 adults — 13 men and 23 women who had experienced weight cycling where they lost and regained more than 11 pounds. The study showed that the participants did not start dieting for health reasons, but because they felt social pressure to lose weight, according to the researchers They also reported engaging in a variety of weight-loss strategies, which resulted in initial weight loss, but eventual regain. Regaining weight led people to feel shame and further internalize the stigma associated with weight — leaving study participants feeling worse about themselves than they did before they began dieting.
This, in turn, often leads people to engage in increasingly extreme behaviours to try to lose weight again. Lead author of the study and an associate professor of communication at North Carolina State University, Lynsey Romo, said overwhelmingly, participants did not start dieting for health reasons, but because they felt social pressure to lose weight. Romo said, “Based on what we learned through this study, as well as the existing research, we recommend that most peopl.
