10 Risks of Quick Weight Loss: From Low Brainpower to Hair Loss

Achieving a healthy weight is not risky, but crash dieting is a whole 'nother story.

10 Risks of Quick Weight Loss: From Low Brainpower to Hair Loss

Q: I'm on a weight-loss diet and my friend keeps warning me about the risks I'm taking. That seems nuts since being overweight is what's really risky. Are there dangers to losing weight?

A: Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is not risky. It's essential for improved health. But — and there is always a but —crash dieting or yo-yo dieting is a whole 'nother story. Weight loss should be done by adopting new habits for a lifetime, not following extreme or rigid diets that virtually guarantee failure.

Research on The Biggest Loser contestants showed that extreme dieting slows metabolism far more and for a longer time than ever realized. And a meta-analysis of studies found dieters regain over half of what they lose within two years.

Crash dieters can:

In extreme cases, crash dieters can see:

  • hair loss
  • sleep disturbances
  • disruption or complete stopping of the menstrual cycle

Is Your Stomach Cramp Actually Diverticulitis?

It may not just be indigestion.

We've all been there — we get a cramp in our stomach, maybe with some nausea or constipation. It's easy to think it may just be indigestion. But what if it's something more serious like diverticulitis? That's a condition of inflammation or infection in one or more small pouches that can form in your digestive tract. Here's how to tell the difference between the pain and how to know when you should see a doctor.