Does going up and down in weight make you fatter?
Body Weight Cycling with Identical Diet Composition Does Not Affect Energy Balance and Has No Adverse Effect on Metabolic Health Parameters
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists fed mice the same high-fat food but made some lose and regain weight twice. They checked if this made the mice unhealthy or fatter over time.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 516 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Scientists fed mice the same high-fat food but made some lose and regain weight twice. They checked if this made the mice unhealthy or fatter over time.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 516 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Authors
Palm IF, Schram RGAE, Swarts HJM, van Schothorst EM, Keijer J
Related Content
Claims (6)
Over time, changes in body fat mass result from the consistent difference between the amount of energy consumed and the amount of energy expended.
In mice fed a high-fat diet, repeated cycles of losing and regaining weight were linked to less fat around internal organs and lower levels of the hormone leptin, compared to mice that did not cycle in weight, without signs of worse metabolic health.
In mice fed a high-fat diet, repeatedly losing and regaining weight did not change the levels of glucose, triglycerides, or free fatty acids in the blood after fasting.
In mice fed a high-fat diet, repeatedly losing and regaining weight did not change how much energy they used, what type of fuel they burned, or their overall energy balance by the end of the study.
In mice on a high-fat diet, repeatedly losing and regaining weight through calorie restriction does not worsen key metabolic markers such as blood sugar, fat levels in the blood, or body fat compared to mice that maintain a stable weight.