Many gain more weight by dieting

Many dieters gave in to their food cravings

Many people in the UK put on more weight than they lose when they go on a diet, researchers have found.

A third of people surveyed said they ended up heavier than their original weight only weeks after dieting.

A fifth of those who said they put their weight back on admitted to gaining more than a stone (6.35kg).

The British Dietetic Association, which commissioned the survey of 4,000 people, blamed faddy dieting for the 'yo-yo' trend in weight loss and gain.

Yo-Yo dieting

One in five were dieting for up to a month at a time. One in 10 lasted only as long as eight weeks.

All these fad diets don't work. They are very temporary solutions to weight loss. Amanda Wynne, dietician for the BDA

A quarter said they got fed up and bored with dieting and nearly half said they found it so hard that they ended up giving in to temptation.

Only a fifth ever reached their target weight.

Two-thirds put all of the weight back on again - nearly half taking only a month to pile on the pounds.

Most of the men and women said they were constantly unhappy with their weight.

Men tended to want to shed more weight than women.

Nearly a fifth of the men said they needed to lose between one and one and a half stone, whereas the majority of women said they would be happy to lose between half a stone and a stone.

Women were less successful in their quest than the men. Nearly 40% of women ended up being heavier than when they had started dieting compared with 20% of men.

Nearly 100% of the men and women said they realised that constant dieting, where weight fluctuates from one extreme to the other, was bad for their health.

Weight gain after dieting 36% returned to their original weight 14.5% put on 1-2lbs 10% put on 2-4lbs 8% put on 4-6lbs 10% put on half a stone 9% put on a stone 4% put on a stone and a half

Amanda Wynne, a BDA dietician, said: "This really confirms what we have been saying all along. All these fad diets don't work.

"They are very temporary solutions to weight loss. People are putting the weight back on afterwards."

She advised people to make small, achievable changes to their diet.

"A little bit less fat, slightly smaller portion sizes, a few more fruit and vegetables and more exercise. Just building things in to your life which you can actually sustain," she said.

There is evidence to suggest that the body adjusts to going on a diet by changing its metabolic rate. This makes people more prone to putting on weight once their diet ends.

A spokeswoman from the British Nutrition Foundation said the survey findings confirmed what was already known.

"If people adopt these sorts of faddy, restrictive diets, often the weight loss doesn't last for long and you lose a lot of self-esteem and feel rather miserable when you pile the weight back on."

She echoed the dietary advice of the BDA.

A study published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed overweight young girls who are experienced dieters by the age of nine are also putting on extra weight through dieting.

Jennifer Shunk and Leann Birch at the Pennsylvania State University studied 153 young girls and found many intentionally tried to eat small amounts to lose weight but ended up eating more as a result.