Diets Don't Work
A meta-analysis from UCLA finds that--no surprise--most dieters gain the weight back and more in the long term.
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Here’s a story that can hardly be called news, but it bears repeating. Diets do not work. This latest revelation’s according to a report in the April issue of the journal American Psychologist. Researchers at UCLA did a meta analysis, a study of 31 other long-term studies. They think this research included every study that followed people on diets for two to five years. And they found that the majority of people regain all weight lost and then some. And that they would have been better off in the long run simply maintaining their heavier weight rather than stress the body by losing it and gaining it back.
Another four-year study of 19,000 healthy older men found that the single biggest predictor of weight gain was if a man had been on a diet at some point in the past.
So what actually does work for weight loss and long term maintenance? Surprise—moderate eating and regular exercise. When I asked a friend of mine how he had lost 50 pounds, he said he’d been on the ELFs diet. What’s the ELFs diet, I asked. His response: “Eat less food, stupid.”
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
