Best way to lose weight is to lose it fast, finds surprising study

MELBOURNE - A recent study has revealed that the best way to lose fat is to lose it fast, according to a researcher of the University of Melbourne.

Dietician Katrina Purcell presented a study to an international obesity conference in Stockholm that proved that the best way to lose weight is to lose it fast instead of doing it slow and steady.

Purcell compared a rapid diet with subjects weighing about 100kg losing 1.5kg a week for 12 weeks to a 36-week diet in which participants lost 0.5kg a week.

“Surprisingly and against current beliefs this study shows rapid weight loss appears to be superior to gradual weight loss in achieving target weight,” said the Daily Telegraph quoted Purcell as saying.

According to the results, 78 per cent of the people on crash diet achieved the target loss of 15 per cent of their body weight within the period, while only 48 per cent of those on the gradual diet met their target, reports

However, Purcell warned against crash diets, in which weight was lost very quickly by cutting down on calories.

“Don’t do it by yourself, do it with a dietician,” she warned.

She also said that crash diets usually strip the body of muscle tone and water than targeting fat cells.

“If you’re going to go on a diet where you’re losing weight quite quickly, you need to maintain your nutritional requirements,” Purcell said. (ANI)