Many more people than previously acknowledged may be living lives
divorced from a happy and healthy relationship with food and eating.
Long-term dieters are like drug addicts - their next go is definitely
going to be their last but somehow it never is. Increasing amounts of
research indicate that dieting is more often a contributor to
long-term eating and weight issues than it is a passport to lasting
and relaxed weight control. Whilst repeated dieting does not
automatically lead on to the very serious eating disorders of anorexia
and bulimia, constant unhappiness with eating and self-image can
certainly be harmful to self-esteem and, indeed, physical and mental
health. Yale University's Prof. Kelly Brownell coined the notion of
Yo-Yo Dieting 20 years ago. The research was a major breakthrough into
realizing the limitations of interfering too much with a natural
relationship with food and eating. Yo-Yo Dieting is the widely
understood notion of periods of crash weight reduction being followed
by periods of weight regain once the artificial eating regime is
relaxed. Subsequent studies have indicated that major health risks,
particularly of heart disease, are associated with these dieting
cycles. Now, new research by a weight-control charity suggests that
many more people than previously recognized are living their lives
dominated by anxieties over eating and dieting. The Weight Foundation
says that obsessive dieting is to blame for great misery and that too
little help is on offer for individuals who spend their lives locked
into depressing and often unhealthy dieting regimes. For many women,
the panicky run-up to peak holiday time - and also the Thanksgiving
period - are triggers for fresh cycles of self-starvation, with the
lost weight often creeping back on. However, The Weight Foundation is
discovering that the extent of the worldwide dieting misery is much
wider than these weight-loss and regain rituals. The research being
conducted by the charity's founder through the UK's Manchester
Metropolitan University is shedding light on the millions of dieters
worldwide who suffer long-term distress but do not undergo any
dramatic swings in weight. "The accepted pattern of dieting is what
has been called Yo-Yo-ing," explains Evans, a 46 year old Cambridge
University social sciences graduate, professional motivational trainer
and private therapist. "Instead, we call this Swinger dieting because
we find whether and how quickly weight returns depends on many factors
and is not automatic like a Yo-Yo. However, the more you look at what
is actually going on in the privacy of people's own homes, this is
just the tip of the dieting iceberg." Flatliner dieting is identified
as being a constant battle between "good" and "bad" foods, with people
varying between treating and punishing themselves with food. These
mini-dieting cycles can be packed within as short a time as a single
day. The term Flatliner refers both to the lack of any jagged peaks of
weight gain and loss and also to the emotional flatness and misery
usually experienced with this lifestyle. There is constant tension
between overeating and self-denial. Lifer dieting refers to people who
never really come off a diet at all, even though they may swap diets
now and then. Lifers fear that breaking their strict eating regime for
just a single day might spell disaster. Occasions such as weddings and
family gatherings are times of high anxiety. Evans says, "The majority
of research to date on eating and dieting problems has tended to
concentrate on the extreme areas of Anorexia and Bulimia. What we are
finding, particularly horrible as these conditions are, is that there
are potentially huge numbers of dieters experiencing great distress."
As with all unrecognized conditions, many of these people suffer in
silence, without understanding or support. The Weight Foundation is
referring to all types of dieting which tend to dominate an
individuals' lifestyles as Hardcore Dieting. The charity is seeking to
understand what pressures and motivations hold obsessive dieting
behavior in place and is finding in both the U.S and the UK that there
is a widespread cultural acceptance that a dieting lifestyle is the
morally correct lifestyle. It is Evans' goal to develop an
international network of committed individuals who can mentor dieters
to move away from depressing and destructive habits. The philosophy is
that by treating food and eating as mainly just a necessity of life,
weight will find its natural – normally lighter – level. "The key
difference between happily slim people and unhappily overweight
individuals is that, for the former, food plays a very small part in
their lives." "Dieting can often make people overweight and it will
always make them unhappy. The key to lasting weight control is to
enjoy a healthy and natural relationship with food. It is only by
developing a thorough understanding of Hardcore Dieting that this
message will stop falling on deaf ears," says Evans. The Weight
Foundation's website features The Hardcore Dieting Index, a
self-diagnostic questionnaire for dieters.

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# posted by Network @ 7:12 PM