RALEIGH, N.C. — A study from N.C. State that addresses why and how people diet found there can be negative consequences. 

The study urges people to steer clear of dieting if possible to avoid the negative interpersonal and psychological consequences that can often come with it. Mary Obiol, an N.C. State senior, has been researching weight cycling. 

“So weight cycling is unintentionally gaining weight and then intentionally losing weight at a very quick pace and then gaining it back,” Obiol said. “I guess I’m just hoping that people will learn that they’re not alone if they’re already experiencing this cycle.”

Although weight fluctuates naturally, Obiol and her colleagues found that when people start fad diets as a way to transform their looks, it can easily become an unhealthy obsession.

“One of the most interesting things that we found in our study is when people were talking about why they began to lose weight,” Obiol said. “None of them said that it was for health reasons. It was all, ‘I’m comparing myself to celebrities. I’m looking at people online. I’ve been shamed in the past or bullied for my weight.’ And a lot of times people would even say, ‘I use health as a cover up.’”

Their research found that much of weight cycling was tied to social stigmas that often led to eating disorders, calorie counting and unhealthy obsessions with looks.

“We ended up finding that people had such toxic behavior with how they viewed themselves and how they viewed dieting,” Obiol said. “And I think that’s why we lean toward such a strong stance of don’t even get involved with this at all. It’s because it was really harming a lot of people.”

Obiol said she hasn’t dealt with weight cycling personally, but she’s seen the psychological consequences of dieting.

The study’s solution is to avoid fad diets altogether, and instead focus on intuitive eating and exercising for fun.

“Our biggest takeaway from the study was to try your best not to even start dieting in the first place unless it is a major health risk where you go to the doctor and they say, look, you need to lose some weight for your overall health,” Obiol said. “We don’t believe that dieting is something people should even engage in at all.”

Obiol’s research is an attempt to break the cycle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that fad diets can promise fast results, but that they tend to fail over time.

Although there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, Obiol’s study suggests some alternatives to fad dieting: focus on healthy and intuitive eating, try weight lifting, get rid of calorie counting, apple watches or fit bits and move your body in ways that help you have fun.