Research

Energy balance

Weight cycling (yo-yo dieting) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and morbidity, whereas sustained weight loss or maintenance reduces risk.

Avoid yo-yo dieting. Repeatedly losing and regaining weight increases your risk of heart disease. Focus on sustainable weight loss or maintenance. If you struggle with weight cycling, seek professional help to establish stable habits.

GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
there is growing evidence for increased CV risks in response to a “weight cycling” behavior (or yo-yo dieting)... continuous weight gain was associated with an increased CV risk, whereas weight loss after weight maintenance and weight maintenance after weight loss was associated with reduced CV risk.
Francesco Perone et al. · Healthcare · 2023

Why this rating

Based on a large study of 67,101 individuals.

Source

Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk: Systematic Intervention Is the Key for Prevention

Francesco Perone et al. · Healthcare · 2023

DOI 10.3390/healthcare11060902

narrative_reviewCited 39×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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