Shedding weight the simple way
Thousands of people all over the world will have just started a diet after the annual Christmas indulgence, but new research results published in the journal Appetite suggest that the more complicated a slimming diet is the more likely the dieter is to quickly give it up. Most dieters think that willpower and dedication are the most important factors in carrying through a diet, but this latest study shows that the complexity factor - such as how many rules and regulations a diet has - also plays a big part in the dedication of a dieter. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany worked with a research team from Indiana University in the US to compare the dieting behaviour of two groups of women who were following very different diet plans. They found that those following the more complex plan tended to give up more quickly. One of the plans, the Brigitte, which is a popular diet plan in Germany, is relatively simple to follow. It consists of shopping lists so the dieter knows exactly what to buy and cook. The Weight Watchers diet was also analysed. This has a points system with points corresponding to each food: dieters are instructed to 'eat' a certain number of points per day. 'For people on a more complex diet that involves keeping track of quantities and items eaten, their subjective impression of the difficulty of the diet can lead them to give up on it,' said Professor Peter Todd from Indiana University. Research team member and lead author of the study Professor Jutta Matta from Stanford University in the US believes the complexity effect holds true even when someone believes strongly that they are capable of sticking to a diet plan. 'Even if you believe you can succeed, thinking that the diet is cognitively complex can undermine your efforts,' she said. Professor Matta advises that setting up your environment to help you discipline yourself to stick to a diet - such as keeping snack food out of sight - is very important. She also suggests that would-be dieters should look at a variety of diet plans and make notes of how many things need to be taken into consideration. 'If the person decides to go with a more complex diet, which could be more, for instance, if it allows more flexibility, they should evaluate how difficult they find doing the calculations and monitoring their consumption,' she pointed out. 'If they find it very difficult, the likelihood that they will prematurely give up the diet is higher and they should try to find a different plan.'
Countries
Germany, United States