Before you start trying to lose weight for the holidays, the summer, a reunion or another event, consider whether you want to spend this time of year preoccupied with food, feeling hungry, tired, irritable and eventually overeating.

These were some of the same effects found in the Keyes study, an experiment conducted with men over 60 years ago.  Instead of joining the military, 36 male conscientious objectors, who were determined to be physically and psychologically healthy, volunteered to be in a study that evaluated the effects of restrictive dieting and weight loss. The purpose of the study was to identify how to help returning veterans and prisoners of war who were underfed.

In the first 3 months of the study the men ate normally (3200 cals/day) while their eating styles, behavior and personalities were carefully monitored.  During the next 3 months, the men were restricted to half of what they normally ate which ended up to be about 1600 calories per day.  After the 6 months were up, they were allowed to eat normally again.  The researchers continued following them for another 9 months.

Individual weight loss among the men varied, but dramatic changes were seen in their physical, psychological and social functioning as a result of the decrease in calories.  The men became preoccupied with thoughts of food and eating.  They talked about food, read cookbooks, dreamed about food, started collecting recipes, spent their days planning how they would divide up their allotment of food for the day and even began collecting coffeepots, hot plates and other kitchen utensils.  Prior to having their calories reduced, none of these men had any food-related interests or problems.

During the calorie restriction phase of the experiment, the men reported increased hunger.  Several men could not adhere to the diet and reported episodes of binge eating followed by self-hatred.  One man was released from the study after becoming bulimic due to the calorie restriction.  Another became bulimic when the 6 months ended.

After they were able to go back to their regular intake, one man ate about 2,000 calories per meal yet started snacking an hour after he finished a meal.  Some men found it difficult to stop eating and would consume 8,000-10,000 calories per day.  After eating more per day than most women do (1600 cals), it took about 5 months for the majority of men to get back to eating the way they did before the study started.  Still, a number of them continued bingeing.  After 8 months, most men had returned to normal eating patterns, but several still had significant eating problems.

During the dieting phase, most men experienced severe emotional distress: Depression, irritability, anger outbursts, anxiety and apathy.  They became withdrawn, isolative, lost their sense of humor and had little to no interest in sexual intimacy.  They displayed impaired concentration, comprehension and judgment.  They had stomach problems, headaches, hair loss, cold hands and feet.  Their metabolism dropped so they burned off fewer calories.  After the dieting phase they gained back all of their weight, plus more. It took another 6 months of normal eating for their weight to stabilize at its normal level.

Today, this study would be considered unethical.  Yet, no one at the local diet center seems to care about ethics when you are paying for their much less than 1600 calorie/day diet.  Look at how 6 months of dieting affected these men.  Then look at what happened to them when they tried to go back to normal eating.  Is there anything "healthy" about what they experienced?

The truth about dieting (a.k.a. starvation) has been known for over 60 years.  The only thing that needs to be weighed is the cost dieting will have on your physical, psychological and social well-being.

If you feel you have a problem with your weight and/or your eating, seek out a therapist and a dietician who specialize in eating and weight disorders.  Diets haven't and never will be the answer to your problems.  Are you willing to accept that and do something healthy about it?