Crash diets may not be as bad as previously thought according to new study

An Australian study has thrown conventional dieting advice to the wind and found evidence that long term weight loss us just as bad as short term crash dieting in regards to how quickly weight is put back on.
Usually, it is said that taking a short term crash diet, like the 5:2 diet will make you lose weight quickly, but also more likely to put it back on just as quick.
However, this study has rebuked this idea.
51 men and 153 women with a high BMI were randomly assigned to either a long term weight loss plan or a short term crash diet plan.
Once they had lost sufficient amount of weight, the participants were moved onto phase two, which observed them for 144 weeks, and measured how much weight they regained.
During this time, it was found that all participants regained similar amounts of weight, regardless of if they were on a short term or long term diet.
This indicates that there is no benefit to a long term diet plan over a crash one like the 5:2, as was previously thought.
It is theorised therefore, that doctors should be able to advise short term crash diets, as the weight loss is quicker and there are benefits to losing weight, even if it does get put back on. This might be a preferable approach for some people with weight problems, as they may prefer to eat very little for a short period of time, rather than alter their lifestyle drastically for the rest of their life.
However, there is no supporting evidence at the moment, and that is just hypothetical. You should always follow your doctor’s advice, and at the moment, crash diets are not recommended as a healthy approach to life by the NHS.
The study was published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.