title: Dieting: proxy or cause of future weight gain?
abstract: The relationship between dieting and body mass has a long and controversial history. This paper aims to help resolve this issue by making two key distinctions. The first is between dieting as a cause of weight gain/regain and as a proxy risk factor for identifying non-obese individuals prone to weight gain for reasons other than dieting. The second is between the body mass that is attained following one or more weight loss/regain cycles and the body mass that might have been reached had dieting never been undertaken. Evidence is reviewed on the relation between recent diet-induced weight loss and sustained weight loss (weight suppression), on the one hand, and weight regain, on the other hand. Furthermore, the reason that a history of dieting in non-obese individuals reflects a susceptibility to future weight gain is explained. It is concluded that (i) diet-induced weight loss hastens weight regain but a history of weight loss diets does not cause weight gain beyond that which would occur in the absence of dieting, and (ii) weight loss dieting in non-obese individuals does not cause future weight gain but is simply a proxy risk factor reflecting a personal vulnerability to weight gain and living in an obesogenic environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Lowe
mesh_terms: D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D012008:Recurrence; D015430:Weight Gain; D015431:Weight Loss
keywords: Dieting; obesity; weight gain; weight regain