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Post-Diet Weight Gain Due to Hormones

Health Research
Last Updated Mar 17, 2022

One of the most frustrating dieting experiences is post-diet weight gain. This phenomenon has baffled dieters for decades. Once believed to be caused by post-diet binging, even the most scrupulous dieters often experience it. A new study may have the answer to this dietary enigma, suggesting that post-diet weight gain may be due to hormones.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was conducted with 50 participants who followed a strict dietary regimen for 10 weeks before  resuming their normal dietary habits, augmented by periodic advice from dietitians and encouragement to exercise for at least 30 minutes daily. A unique aspect of this study was that the participants' hormone levels were measured for a period before they began dieting, during their 10 week diet and for 52 weeks following the diet. This way, researchers were able to more accurately measure post-diet hormonal changes.

As well as periodic measurements of hormone levels, participants were asked to give a subjective assessment of their craving for food. Significantly, their increased appetites corresponded with changes in hormone levels. Of particular interest to researchers were the increased levels of ghrelin, a hormone known to stimulate the appetite and the decreased levels of leptin, a hormone that increases the metabolism while decreasing appetite.

These results led Dr. Joseph Proietto PhD of the University of Melbourne's Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, leader of the research team, to suggest to CNN that post-diet weight gain "may be due to biological changes rather than [a] voluntary return to old habits." It is believed that the body has built-in evolutionary mechanisms to regain weight after it is lost. The problem in modern societies is that we no longer experience food shortages while at the same time we lead sedentary lives. This, according to experts, may be the key to understanding the causes of obesity.

Not all participants in the study gained weight after dieting at the same rate. This led researchers to speculate that willpower can still play a role in weight loss and weight management. In addition, some nutritionists argue that a diet and lifestyle programme that targets leptin hormone stimulation may prove fruitful. Because leptin is released from body fat, it is believed that it may play a much larger role in weight management than has previously been believed. There is a great deal of research yet to be done, but it is hoped that an understanding of the role hormones play in hunger can lead to an awareness of where excessive food cravings come from and how to overcome them or strategically use them in a weight management programme.

Originally published on Nov 24, 2011

Related Topics

Hormone Imbalances,  Dieting,  Weight Loss

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