2007/01/01 by Traci Mann, A. Janet Tomiyama, Erika Westling +3 · 4 citations
Medicine · Health Professions · #Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment #Diet and metabolism studies #Obesity and Health Practices
paper · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.62.3.220
openalex publication_date 2007/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
The prevalence of obesity and its associated health problems have increased sharply in the past 2 decades. New revisions to Medicare policy will allow funding for obesity treatments of proven efficacy. The authors review studies of the long-term outcomes of calorie-restricting diets to assess whether dieting is an effective treatment for obesity. These studies show that one third to two thirds of dieters regain more weight than they lost on their diets, and these studies likely underestimate the extent to which dieting is counterproductive because of several methodological problems, all of which bias the studies toward showing successful weight loss maintenance. In addition, the studies do not provide consistent evidence that dieting results in significant health improvements, regardless of weight change. In sum, there is little support for the notion that diets lead to lasting weight loss or health benefits.