A recent study found that teenage girls who used severe methods to lose weight were more likely to become obese than girls who ate a high-fat diet. A Duke expert says radical weight-loss measures change the body’s metabolism and actually promote weight gain.
A recent study found that teenage girls who used severe methods to lose weight were more likely to become obese than girls who ate a high-fat diet. A Duke expert says radical weight-loss measures change the body’s metabolism and actually promote weight gain.Adolescent girls who try to lose weight by extreme measures such as vomiting, laxative abuse and skipping meals are actually more likely to become obese than girls who eat a high-fat diet. Dr. Terrill Bravender, director of adolescent medicine at Duke University Medical Center, says the findings of the four-year study of 500 teenage girls shouldn’t be surprising. “Although this seems counter-intuitive, it actually makes quite a bit of sense. We know from other research that skipping meals sets you up for eating more food throughout the rest of the day. It’s almost like the body goes into starvation mode and actually over-compensates for the lost energy.” Bravender says many factors can cause obesity, but extreme weight-loss measures are not the solution. “Episodes of starvation or extreme weight-loss control most likely lead to subsequent binge eating, which negates all the work you’ve done. The best approach is eating a well-balanced, healthy diet, limiting snacking and getting a modest amount of daily physical activity.” I’m Cabell Smith for MedMinute. |
