Fad Diets May do More Harm Than Good to Women Postmenopausal
Fad diets have been around since I could remember. The first fad diet I could recall getting a lot of hype was the cabbage diet. Since then I’ve seen fad diets come and go. The HCG diet, the grapefruit diet, the alkaline diet, the Atkins diet, and my favorite fad of them all, the Beyoncé diet. They all had their time in the spotlight and all have something else in common. They were unsustainable.
Details of Study
Fad diets usually lead to fast weight loss followed by fast weight gain. The cycle of losing and regaining weight is referred to also as yo-yo dieting. A recent study funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute suggest yo-yo diets increases the risk of sudden cardiac death and coronary heart disease for postmenopausal women.
The increased risk focused on women who were of normal-weight at the beginning of the study and excluded overweight or obese women who reported weight cycling. Women who admitted to yo-yo dieting were 3.5 times more likely to experience sudden cardiac death than women whose weight remained stable. The term normal weight and obese are controversial and are usually determined by a person’s body mass index.
According to WebMD, a woman is considered to be postmenopausal when she has gone without a period for at least an entire year. Women who are postmenopausal are at increased risk of health conditions, such as osteoporosis and heart disease.
“Weight cycling is an emerging global health concern associated with attempts of weight loss, but there have been inconsistent results about the health hazards for those who experience weight cycling behavior,” said Somwail Rasla, M.D., study lead author and internal medicine resident at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island.
A Healthy Lifestyle beats a Trendy Lifestyle
Here’s a few lifestyle tips to stay on the right track
- Reward. Having a trip planned where you can flaunt and enjoy your new figure, makes the experience even more gratifying. Pick a destination where you wish to enjoy your new figure and mark it on the calendar as something to look forward to. Learning new and healthy recipes, turns a diet into a lifestyle change. Educate yourself on new ingredients and how your body responds to them, making sure to document the findings.
- Accountability. Have a family member or friend keep you accountable. When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, it’s better not to go at it alone. Experts agree that group exercises help with accountability. Cook healthy meals with a friend and make it fun.
- Stop Trend Surfing. There’s a new trend just around the corner. It’s very tempting to try the new trend that’s all over magazines and talk shows, but understand most will come and go. Keep it simple fun, and measurable.
Authority Nutrition: 11 proven ways to lose weight without diet or exercise
- Chew Thoroughly and Slow Down
- Use Smaller Plates For Unhealthy Foods
- Eat Plenty of Protein
- Store Unhealthy Foods Out of Sight
- Eat Fiber-Rich Foods
- Drink Water Regularly
- Serve Yourself Smaller Portions
- Eat Without Electronic Distractions
- Sleep Well and Avoid Stress
- Eliminate Sugary Drinks
- Serve Unhealthy Food on Red Plates
http://newsroom.heart.org/news/Xyo-yo-dieting-dangerous-even-if-youre-not-overweight
http://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/health-after-menopause