The world's largest study of weight loss has shown that diets do not work for the vast majority of slimmers and may even put lives at risk.

Indeed most dieters end up heavier than they did to start with, the researchers found. This type of yo-yo behaviour is linked to a host of health problems. The strain that repeated weight loss and gain places on the body means most people would have been better off not dieting at all.

U.S scientists behind the latest research-the most thorough and comprehensive analysis of it's kind-said that dieting simply does not work . The University of California researchers analysed the results of more than 30 studies involving thousands of slimmers. Poling the results…showed that while people do lose weight initially, most quickly put all the pounds back on. In fact, most people end up weighing more that they did to begin with.

Researcher Dr Tracey Mann said: ‘you can initially lose 5 to 10% of your weight on any number of diets. But after this honeymoon period, the weight comes back. We found the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more.'

The research, published in the journal “American Psychologist” concluded dieters may actually be damaging their health. The repeated rapid weight gain and loss associated with dieting can double the risk of death from heart disease…and the risk of premature death in general. Such yo-yo weight loss has also been linked to stroke and diabetes and shown to suppress the immune system.

Dr Mann said ‘the benefits of dieting are simply too small and the potential harms of dieting are too large for it to be recommended as a safe and effective treatment for obesity.' The psychologist, who advises would-be slimmers to swap calorie-controlled diets for a balanced diet coupled with regular exercise, added;

‘Exercise may well be the key factor to sustained weight loss. Studies consistently find that people who report the most exercise also have the most weight loss.'

Daily Mail, 10:04:07