Jojo effect

The yo-yo effect is an undesirable and rapid weight gain after a weight loss diet . With repeated diets , body weight can move up and down like a yo-yo , with the new end weight often being higher than the starting weight. In a figurative sense, the expression is used to describe up and down movements that follow one another relatively quickly, for example in economic and stock price curves.

causes

Energy (see: Physiological calorific value ) from food is stored in the form of glycogen and fat in the liver, muscles and adipose tissue and is called up again when required. The fatty tissue cells ( adipocytes ) multiply until adolescence when you gain weight, they don't just fill up with fat. Adipose tissue cells once formed are only emptied when losing weight, their number is retained. This makes sustainable weight loss difficult for people who were already very overweight as children and adolescents.

In healthy people, the direct reason for storing energy in the cells of the adipose tissue is the result of a strongly positive energy balance. The indirect reasons are usually found in general lifestyle and eating habits. With a weight reduction diet, less energy is generally supplied than consumed. In response to this controlled malnutrition, the body makes the difference in energy available from adipose tissue and / or muscle tissue. However, the muscle tissue increases energy consumption even when inactive and generally contributes to the general performance and vitality of the body. In the event of rapid, uncontrolled malnutrition through "lightning diets", the body usually loses mainly water and short-term available energy from (thus undersupplied) muscle cells. In addition, the body has a lower basal metabolic rate due to the undersupply of energy and the reduced body mass .

If the old lifestyle and eating habits are resumed after a diet, this usually results in a strongly accelerated weight gain ('yo-yo') due to the impaired performance and the lower basal metabolic rate of the body.

Depending on the loss of muscle mass, the change in the control cycle of the energy balance ( e.g. through starvation metabolism ) and the suddenness of the diet change to the original way of life, the renewed weight gain can occur very quickly and a higher body weight than before the diet can be achieved.

A study presented in 2011 showed that for a year after a low-energy diet of 2300  kJ (approx. 550 kcal ) per day for 10 weeks and a mean weight loss of 13.5 kg, the hormones that increase appetite and weight gain remain pathologically changed . The feeling of hunger was also increased.

Avoidance

The yo-yo effect can be reduced or avoided through sustainable changes in diet and lifestyle. According to an American study from 2008, regular exercise is more important than adhering to strict dietary rules. The importance of regular physical activity to avoid the yo-yo effect can be explained physiologically very well by the Summermatter Cycle . According to the Summermatter Cycle , reduced food intake initially leads to the desired loss of weight and, above all, fat. This is further intensified, as a reduced food intake leads to increased physical activity and mobilization of the energy stores in fat and muscle tissue. However, the lack of food induces a "saving program" in the muscles. This persists even when food is supplied again and promotes the replenishment of fat stores. Targeted physical activity during this phase can prevent the yo-yo effect.

A study from 2012 examined the effects of different diet plans on metabolism. A high-carbohydrate diet, in which 60 percent of the daily energy requirement came from carbohydrates, 20 percent from fat and 20 percent from protein, turned out to be particularly unfavorable. In contrast, a subsequent diet with a low glycemic index , in which 40 percent of the daily energy requirement comes from carbohydrates, 40 percent from fat and 20 percent from protein, increases the basal metabolic rate of energy again. The effect was even more pronounced with a fat and protein-dominated diet in the style of an Atkins diet , in which 10 percent of the daily energy requirement comes from carbohydrates, 60 percent from fat and 30 percent from protein. The Atkins variant thus had the most favorable effect on the basal metabolic rate: Between this form and the low-fat but high-carbohydrate diet, a difference of an average of 1250 kJ (300 kcal) could be determined, which the test subjects consumed more daily due to the increased basal metabolic rate. The low glycemic index diet was still around 850 kJ (200 kcal) better than the low-fat diet. However, since the Atkins variant significantly increased the test subjects' cortisol levels compared to the other two diets , which can lead to insulin resistance , i.e. the precursor of diabetes mellitus , and cardiovascular diseases , the scientists favored one with a low glycemic index based diet versus the other two diet forms.

research

In 2017, scientists showed that the yo-yo effect leads to more coronary or cardiovascular events in patients with pre-existing conditions .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ KL Spalding, E. Arner u. a .: Dynamics of fat cell turnover in humans. In: Nature. Volume 453, Number 7196, June 2008, pp. 783-787, ISSN  1476-4687 . doi: 10.1038 / nature06902 . PMID 18454136 . See also: The persistence of adipocytes or why all diets fail ( Memento of the original from June 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt. 7 May 2008. 
2. ^ A. Astrup, PC Gøtzsche u. a .: Meta-analysis of resting metabolic rate in formerly obese subjects. In: The American journal of clinical nutrition. Volume 69, Number 6, June 1999, pp. 1117-1122, ISSN  0002-9165 . PMID 10357728 .
3. ↑ SB Heymsfield, D. Gallagher et al. a .: Body-size dependence of resting energy expenditure can be attributed to nonenergetic homogeneity of fat-free mass. In: American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism. Volume 282, Number 1, January 2002, pp. E132-E138, ISSN  0193-1849 . PMID 11739093 .
4. ↑ P. Sumithran, LA Prendergast a. a .: Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. In: The New England journal of medicine . Volume 365, Number 17, October 2011, pp. 1597-1604, ISSN  1533-4406 . doi: 10.1056 / NEJMoa1105816 . PMID 22029981 .
5. ↑ JM Jakicic, BH Marcus u. a .: Effect of exercise on 24-month weight loss maintenance in overweight women. In: Archives of Internal Medicine . Volume 168, Number 14, July 2008, pp. 1550-1559, ISSN  1538-3679 . doi: 10.1001 / archinte.168.14.1550 . PMID 18663167 . PMC 2829743 (free full text).
6. ↑ S. Summermatter, C. Handschin (2005): PGC-1α and exercise in the control of body weight. In: International Journal of Obesity . Volume 36, Number 11, November 2012, pp. 1428-1435, ISSN  1476-5497 . doi: 10.1038 / ijo.2012.12 . PMID 22290535 . (Review).
7. ↑ Ebbeling, CB et al .: Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance . In: JAMA . Vol. 307, No. 24 , 2012, p. 2627–2634 , doi : 10.1001 / jama.2012.6607 (English, jamanetwork.com [accessed April 21, 2017]).
8. ↑ Sripal Bangalore, Rana Fayyad, Rachel Laskey, David A. DeMicco, Franz H. Messerli: Body-Weight Fluctuations and Outcomes in Coronary Disease . In: New England Journal of Medicine . tape 376 , no. 14 , April 6, 2017, ISSN  0028-4793 , p. 1332-1340 , doi : 10.1056 / NEJMoa1606148 , PMID 28379800 .

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