Yo-Yo Dieting Healthier Than Obesity?

In a recent study comparing lifelong obesity to the weight fluctuations of "yo-yo dieting," it is suggested that it’s better to attempt to lose weight than to not diet and stay obese.

"It is clear that remaining on a stable, healthy diet provides the best outcome for health and longevity," which the study's principal investigator, Edward List, PhD, a scientist at Ohio University, Athens, was quoted as saying.

"However, obese individuals commonly weight cycle — they have repeated intentional weight loss followed by weight regain, often called yo-yo dieting. While yo-yo dieting is thought to be harmful, there is little hard scientific evidence to support that."

In order to verify the long-term health effects of yo-yo dieting, List and his collaborators performed what they call "the first controlled study of a yo-yo diet regimen used for an entire life span" with the aid of mice...