Why Diets Make Us Fat

A neuroscientist uses her knowledge of brain science and biology to explain why dieting does not work and that a cycle of dieting and gaining is actually worse for one's health than being overweight.

If diets worked, we'd all be thin by now. Instead, we are in a war we can't win. If you're like most of us, you've tried cutting calories, sipping weird smoothies, avoiding fats and sugar. The real secret is that all of those things are likely to make you weigh more in a few years, not less. Long-term studies of dieters consistently find that they're more likely to end up gaining weight in the next few years than people who don't diet. Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt spent three decades in her own punishing cycle of starving and regaining before turning her scientific eye to the research on weight and health. What she found defies the conventional wisdom: telling children that they're overweight makes them more likely to gain weight over the next few years--weight shaming has the same effect on adults; the calories you absorb from food depend on your genes and on your gut bacteria--so does the number of calories you burn; most people who lose a lot of weight suffer from obsessive thoughts, binge eating, depression, and anxiety--they also burn less energy and find eating much more rewarding than it was before they lost weight; fighting against your body's set point--a central tenet of most diet plans--is exhausting, psychologically damaging, and ultimately counterproductive. If dieting makes us fat, what should we do instead to stay healthy and reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related conditions? With clarity and candor, Aamodt makes a spirited case for abandoning diets in favor of behaviors that will truly improve and extend our lives.--Adapted from dust jacket.