New study explains ‘yo-yo effect’ of slimming diets

WASHINGTON - A new study has found that the hormones related to appetite play an important role in the likelihood of regaining weight after dieting.

The study found that people with the highest levels of leptin and lowest levels of ghrelin are more likely to put on pounds again after dieting.

This is called the ‘yo-yo’ effect, and it is noted in some people who follow such weight-loss programmes.

“There are patients who are susceptible to and others who are resistant to the benefits of a diet”, said Ana Belen Crujeiras, a doctor at the University Hospital Complex of Santiago (CHUS).

“It seems that the way each patient responds to treatment is predetermined by their own characteristics,” she added.

After eight weeks of a hypocaloric diet in 104 overweight people, the team found that the group that had regained more than 10percent of the weight lost was found to have higher levels of leptin and lower levels of ghrelin.

“Some obese or overweight patients who gain more weight following a diet could even be identified before they embark on their weight-loss therapy, just by looking at their plasma levels of these hormones”, Crujeiras said.

The findings will pave way for more exhaustive studies on appetite-related hormones as tools for developing individually-tailored weight-loss programmes that would guarantee success for obese and overweight patients in keeping the weight lost off.

The results are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. (ANI)