To diet or not to diet

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The debate rages on:

In one corner, we have the current champion: The Atkins/South Beach/Abs/Fat Smash/ You on a Diet KID.

In the other corner, we have the challenger: Healthy Lifestyle

And the winner is…..

With sales of $58 billion in 2007, the diet industry kicks butt. Healthy Lifestyle butt.

But maybe 2008 is a comeback year for Healthy Lifestyle.

Here is some more research showing that a health focused lifestyle is the better way to a trim waistline.

The focus of this study was the effect that stress had upon the health of obese women in New Zealand.

They found that obese women can improve their health and prevent further weight gain by ditching their diets and learning to deal with stress.

The study encouraged women to break free of chronic dieting and make lifestyle changes, including listening to their feelings of hunger and fullness rather than focusing on weight loss.

Following a group of 225 women, the research showed that the women who lost weight by dieting often regained the weight they lost, and more, within five years.

The researchers found that “the most successful intervention involved providing intensive training in relaxation techniques while equipping the women to recognize and avoid stress-related triggers for eating.’’

“Many overweight women had a fearful and guilt-ridden relationship with food, and their eating was often emotionally triggered”.

Additionally, the research showed that this lifestyle approach resulted in “significant improvement in reducing psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, and medical symptoms including headaches, fatigue and lowered blood pressure”

The study can be found in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

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