American women are getting heavier, and 35% of them are trying to lose weight, but most fail in the long run. Many go through repeated cycles of losing and regaining weight, which leads doctors to say that dieting can be more dangerous to health than not dieting.
A growing number of doctors are warning about the dangers of dieting. US health centres studied a group of women, some of whom dieted and some of whom did not, measuring blood pressure, cholesterol, physical activity and depression after six months and after two years. At six months, the women who dieted had lost weight and their health had improved. But at two years they had gone back to their old eating habits, and their risk had returned to where it was, with their weight, blood pressure and cholesterol up again.
The study also found that many women use dangerous ways to lose weight, including unlicensed drugs and making themselves sick after meals, a practice common among schoolgirls. Self-induced vomiting weakens the heart muscle, destroys tooth enamel, damages the oesophagus, causes stomach ulcers and bursts blood vessels in the eyes, and many patients have become partly or completely blind as a result.
A new wave of doctors is urging women not to put so much pressure on themselves, and society not to judge them for being overweight. What doctors have found is that the psychological pressure women face is far more dangerous than the health problems that come with extra weight.
It may sound strange, but these doctors' advice to women is: do not worry about your weight; enjoy your life.
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