Crash dieting IS the best way to loose weight, say experts

CRASH dieting is the best way to lose weight - and does not lead to quickly piling on the pounds according to new research.

New research shows that crash dieting is the best way to loose way The study found that those who lost weight faster were more likely to achieve target weight loss [GETTY]

Experts have dismissed the theory that people who lose a rapid amount of weight over a short period of time will put it back on just as quickly.

And they even say that quickly shedding excess weight is the best way of achieving a target.

Dietician and study first author Katrina Purcell said: "Across the world, guidelines recommend gradual weight loss for the treatment of obesity, reflecting the widely held belief that fast weight loss is more quickly regained.

Our results show that achieving a weight loss target of 12.5 per cent is more likely, and drop-out is lower, if losing weight is done quickly

Katrina Purcell, dietician

"However, our results show that achieving a weight loss target of 12.5 per cent is more likely, and drop-out is lower, if losing weight is done quickly."

The study, led by Joseph Proietto fromt the University of Melbourne in Australia, set out to examine whether losing weight at a slow initial rate, as recommended by current guidelines worldwide, results in larger long-term weight reduction - and less weight regain - than losing weight at a faster initial rate.

It showed that, in the obese, slow and steady weight loss is not better at preventing the amount or rate of weight regain compared with losing weight quickly.

The research, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, included 200 obese adults with a BMI of between 30 and 45 who were randomly assigned to either a 12-week rapid weight loss (RWL) programme on a very-low-calorie diet of 450-800 calories a day) or a 36-week gradual weight-loss (GWL) programme.

The GWL programme saw their calorie intake slashed by approximately 500 a day in line with current dietary weight loss guidelines.

Participants who lost more than 12.5 per cent of their body weight were then placed on a weight maintenance diet for three years.

It found that those who lost weight faster were more likely to achieve target weight loss.

In fact, 81 per cent of those in the RWL group lost 12.5 per cent of their body weight compared to just half in the GWL group.

The researchers found that the initial rate of weight loss did not affect the amount or rate of weight regain in these patients who entered the subsequent weight maintenance period.

Similar amounts of weight were regained after three years by people who had lost weight on either diet programme.

Weight regain was around 71 per cent in both groups after three years.

The authors suggest a number of possible explanations for their findings.

The limited carbohydrate intake of very-low-calorie diets might promote a greater feeling of fullness and less food intake by triggering ketosis.

This is a process in the body which occurs when reducing carbohydrate intake.

It forces the body to burn fat which then leads to the production of ketones which are breakdown products of fat burning that are known to suppress hunger.

Losing weight quickly may also motivate participants to persist with their diet and achieve better results.

Professor Susan Jebb, from the University of Oxford, said: "This is an important and well conducted study. It shows clearly that the common claim that more rapid initial weight loss is associated with more rapid regain is false.

"This is important because it will enable professionals to recommend a broader range of treatment options so that people may be more likely to find the one that is best suited to their lifestyle.

"Interestingly, the rapid weight loss group were more likely to achieve their target weight loss and more likely to stick with the programme. These factors are both important to successful weight control."

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