This experiment does not understand the problem of yo-yo dieting. The problem is that in humans, yo-yo dieting often results in significant net weight gain at a faster rate than just trying to eat sensibly most of the time, but not dieting. This experiment falsely presumed that at the end of a yo-yo diet, weight was nearly the same as when it was started.

I don't believe this.  I had a brother who lost weight, gained it back, lost weight, gained it back and he died of a heart attack at the age of 35. 

This article is as meaningless as most other health on MSNBC are.

Remember when eggs were bad---now they are good----wine was bad now is good---and coffee and beer and etc.

The only thing NOT avocated is common sense----It's all about the scare.

The headline of this article is worst than misleading - it is wrong. This research was done in rats! One cannot assume that what happens to rats will happen to humans! It is outrageous to imply this is the case. There is a great deal of research done with human beings showing that yo-yo dieting is harmful. UC Berkeley Nutrition Scientist

This research was done with MICE. It cannot and should not be extrapolated to HUMANS. There are at least 10 studies with humans showing the opposite. In research that I conducted with obese WOMEN, those at the highest weights had dieted far more often than those at lower weights.

Certainly attempting to lose weight is better than never attempting, but to say that yo-yo dieting isn't that harmful and may actually be helpful is nothing short of irresponsible. Not only does yo-yo dieting wreak havoc with the human metabolism and make future weight loss attempts even more difficult, reading this article will give SOME people the reassurance that they don't need to try that hard to lose excess weight.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! I was a yo-yo dieter for about ten years before I finally lost over 50kg (over 50% of my original body weight). I went from 106.5kg / 234lbs to 53kg / 116 lbs. Moreover, I've kept the weight off (I lost it in 2002-2003). This study fails to consider the psychological aspects of yo-yo dieting. It's actually much easier to be obese (and live in denial) then to be constantly going up and down (and feeling like a failure). Incidentally, when I lost my weight I didn't follow a specific diet or exercise plan, didn't set a goal weight, didn't announce my intentions to lose weight to anyone, didn't get an exercise buddy, and didn't use rewards (apart from food) along the way. So basically I ignored all the usual "expert" advice - hmm - maybe the so-called "experts" are missing the mark . . . maybe that's why so many people are still struggling with their weight???

This kind of headline is quite dangerous. The evidence that we have available for humans who yo-yo diet is quite alarming. The evidence points to this constant loosing and regaining weight which actually causes the damage which is responsible for many of the health problems suffered by those overweight. The constant breaking down of healthy tissues, which is what happens on most diets, causes permanent damage which builds up over time until it significantly weakens the body's ability to cope with stress. Evidence fron the CDC in the US suggests that those who do not diet, but remain overweight consistently, tend to have better health outcomes than those who yo-yo diet.

Please revise this headline.