A new study has looked at how weight changes caused by yo-yo diets can affect cardiovascular health.
While eating well in the long term – without diet – reduces the risk of cardiovascular problems, we know very little about how a fluctuating diet affects our heart health.
Because many people choose one type of diet and then gradually move away from it, researchers are interested in how the yo-yo diet can influence markers of cardiovascular disease.
Researchers led by Wayne Campbell of Purdue University in West Lafayette (USA) set out to examine it and have published their results in the journal Nutrients.
They inspected data from two previous studies on dietary interventions conducted by the same group of researchers at Purdue University. Participants in these studies followed either a Mediterranean diet or a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
Study lead author Lauren O’Connor explains these two eating patterns, saying, “Our DASH-style eating pattern focused on controlling sodium intake, while our Mediterranean-style focused on increasing healthy fats. Both eating patterns were rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. “
The participants followed their eating pattern for 5 to 6 weeks. After this period, the scientists assessed their cardiovascular risk by measuring a range of parameters including blood pressure and the levels of fats, glucose, and insulin in the blood.
After the 5-6 weeks of dieting, the participants returned to their usual eating patterns for another 4 weeks. Then, after another cardiovascular evaluation, the DASH or Mediterranean diet plans were restarted for an additional 5-6 weeks. Finally, they had one more check-up at the end of this period.
A cardiometabolic ‘roller coaster’
The analysis showed that, as expected, cardiovascular markers improved when the individual followed the diet. Then, after returning to a less healthy eating regimen, the biomarkers became less favorable again. Once they returned to healthy diets, their metabolic markers improved once again.
The key message is that just a few weeks of healthy eating can make measurable improvements in cardiovascular health markers, but at the same time, it doesn’t take long before they revert to their unhealthy state once a person is done. your healthy diet.
” These findings should encourage people to try again if they fail their first attempt to adopt a healthy eating pattern,” says Campbell. “It seems like your body won’t become resistant to the health-promoting effects of this diet pattern just because you tried it and it wasn’t successful the first time.
More research will be needed to explore whether yo-yo diets have a long-term health impact, the researchers say.
Some studies have shown that losing and gaining weight again in a cycle could put stress on the cardiovascular system. However, the evidence is certainly not overwhelming, and some scientists question whether cycling has any adverse effects.
Overall, the results are bittersweet; show that just a few weeks of dietary change can produce measurable improvements in health markers. On the other hand, after a few weeks after abandoning a new diet, those benefits are lost.
However, if a person restarts their healthy eating plan, the benefits can be recovered in the same amount of time. C
“The best option is to keep the healthy pattern, but if you mess up, try again,” Campbell concludes. The message is clear. Do not give up.
Reference: Short-Term Effects of Healthy Eating Pattern Cycling on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Pooled Results from Two Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients 2018, 10 (11), 1725; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111725
