- How to avoid the accordion effect
- How long does it normally take to regain weight?
- What can cause the concertina effect
- 1. Type and composition of the diet
- 2. Fat tissue
- 3. Alteration in satiety hormones
- 4. Change in appetite
The concertina effect, also known as the yo-yo effect, happens when the weight lost after a slimming diet returns quickly causing the person to put on weight again.
Weight, diet and metabolism are regulated by several hormones that act at the level of adipose tissue, the brain and other organs, so it is believed that weight recovery is not only associated with changes in eating habits or type diet, but also to metabolic and physiological changes in the body in an attempt to compensate for the period of "hunger" that the body has gone through, as the body can interpret weight loss as a "threat" and try to get back to what for a long time it was normal, plus 5.10 or 15 kg.
How to avoid the accordion effect
To avoid the accordion effect, it is important that the diet is always monitored by a doctor or nutritionist, so that it is adequate to the needs of each person and there is monitoring. In addition, it is important to:
- Avoid very restricted or unbalanced diets at the nutritional level, it is important to eat a varied and balanced diet; Perform a dietary reeducation, making changes in your lifestyle that can be adopted for life; Weight loss should be progressive; Eat every 3 hours in small proportions; Eat slowly and chew your food well, so that the satiety signal reaches the brain, to avoid excessive consumption of food.
In addition, it is important to avoid physical inactivity and practice physical activity at least 3 times a week for about 1 hour.
How long does it normally take to regain weight?
Some studies have shown that approximately 30 to 35% of weight loss recovers 1 year after treatment and 50% of people return to their initial weight in the fifth year after weight loss.
Check out the following video about the accordion effect:
What can cause the concertina effect
There are several theories that explain the accordion effect and that can be associated with several factors, such as:
1. Type and composition of the diet
It is believed that very restrictive diets, monotonous and nutritionally unbalanced diets could favor the long-term rebound effect.
In the case of restrictive diets, it is possible that by restarting normal eating, a tissue response to nutrients may be generated, in which the body seeks to recover what it has lost, as if it were a response to the "hunger" that the person went through during that period. Thus, there could be changes at the metabolic level such as increased fat production and storage, decreased blood sugar and, consequently, increased appetite and the amount of food consumed during the day.
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats during their metabolism stimulate oxygen consumption differently, so in the case of unbalanced diets, in which there is a predominance of a certain nutrient, such as what occurs in the ketogenic diet, for example, it may have some influence in weight gain.
2. Fat tissue
The cells of the adipose tissue empty when the person loses weight, however its size and quantity is maintained for a prolonged period of time. This is another theory that is believed that the fact that the number and size of adipose tissue cells remain the same for a while, activates the body's compensation mechanisms in order to make these cells gradually refill until they reach normal volume.
3. Alteration in satiety hormones
There are several hormones that are related to the satiety process, being found in people who have had severe weight loss, lower levels of leptin, YY peptide, cholecystokinin and insulin, with an increase in the levels of ghrelin and pancreatic polypeptide.
It is believed that all hormonal changes make it possible to regain weight, with the exception of an increase in pancreatic peptide, because as a result of these changes there is an increase in appetite, favoring food intake and, consequently, hair gain.
To better understand how this occurs, it is important to make it clear that ghrelin is a hormone responsible for stimulating appetite at the brain level, so that its levels are high during a fasting period. On the other hand, leptin is responsible for reducing appetite, and it has been found that people who have lost 5% of their weight, have decreased levels of this hormone. This situation activates compensation mechanisms and causes energy expenditure to decrease and weight to recover.
In addition to changes in satiety hormones, weight loss is also associated with changes in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which can also stimulate the accordion effect.
4. Change in appetite
Some people report increased appetite after weight loss, which could be associated with all the physiological changes that occurred in the body during the weight loss process. However, it is believed that this is also due to the fact that people believe they deserve a reward, which is given as food.
