The off-and-on experience for dieters who shed pounds and gain them back may be due to the persistence of hormones that drive the urge to eat even a year after people lose weight, a study suggests.
Researchers tracked diet losses and changes in hormone levels in 50 people who agreed to consume only Nestle SA’s Optifast, and two cups of vegetables for 10 weeks. A year after the volunteers lost 10 percent of their weight, hormones that affect appetite -- including leptin and ghrelin -- continued to send signals urging the body to eat more, according to a study released yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
