by Maria Teresa L. Ungson
Dieting is no simple matter! It requires research on the part of the dieter on how to diet properly, wisdom is also needed, spending time in the grocery selecting one’s diet food and tons of self control and discipline plus regular exercise! Despite all these, planning for one’s diet is quite interesting and exciting! Why? Dieting has and will always be a challenge…that alone keeps the adrenalin rushing as long as you stick to your goal and vision.
There are new developments on dieting. With all the angles that dieting possess, one could surmise that dieting can be a science. With this new research study that digs deeper on ways to keep off the lost weight, it appears that certain hormones have a stake at this. According to the study, some dieters may be more likely than others to regain any excess pounds they’ve lost, depending on their particular hormonal makeup, new Spanish research cautions. A certain combination of appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin appears to predispose some people to weight gain following a diet, the researchers found.
Study author Ana Crujeiras, of Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago in Spain, and her team report the finding in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
The connection between appetite hormones such as ghrelin and leptin and long-range weight-loss complications stems from work with 104 obese and overweight men and women, all of whom embarked on an eight-week, low-calorie diet.
Before dieting, during the diet, and about four months post-diet, Crujeiras and her colleagues measured each participant’s body weight and fasting plasma levels of ghrelin, leptin and insulin. The bottom-line: Those with higher leptin and lower ghrelin levels before dieting were more likely to reacquire the lost weight after the diet ended.
“We believe this research may indicate that the outcome of weight therapy may be pre-conditioned,” Crujeiras said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.
“Our findings may provide endocrinology and nutrition professionals a tool to identify individuals in need of specialized weight-loss programs that first target appetite hormone levels before beginning conventional dietary treatment,” she added.
And while noting that “the long-term success of maintaining the weight lost is usually poor,” Crujeiras suggested that the current observations “could be used as a tool to personalize weight-loss programs that could guarantee success in keeping off the weight.”
This study has shed more understanding on how we should address dieting. It’s not simply cutting calories or portion control…checking on a dieter’s appetite hormones plays a key role in the success of a weight loss program. This study can also explain why there are individuals who after trying various diets have not improved or gained the weight back after some time. There’s just so much to learn! Let’s keep an inquisitive and open mind on the science of dieting.
