Study Shows That Dieting Could Lead To Binge Eating

The results of a study on mice at the Department of Animal Biology in the University of Pennsylvania suggest the importance of managing stress during dieting in long-term weight maintenance. It showed that mice subjected to a 3-week reduction of calorie intake and withdrawal from a high-fat diet later engage in binge eating as a result of the stress that they experience. The observed behavior is thought to be due to the changes that happen in the brain during dieting. In the case of humans, similar changes could suggest the need to manage stress during dieting to help avoid later binge eating and ensure the diet’s long-term effectiveness.