At war with their bodies or at war with their minds? A glimpse into the lives and minds of female yo-yo dieters - the curtain has lifted in the UK

Yo-yo dieting is a common phenomenon yet little interdisciplinary research has been carried out on dieting, food and nutrition in the social context. This study investigated the effects of yo-yo dieting on social and psychological well-being using qualitative methods. Data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with women who yo-yo diet. A total of 9 participants, 20-51 years old, were recruited by purposive and snowball sampling techniques from the University of Roehampton, London, U.K., where the first author was a student at the time of the study. Thematic analysis derived four major themes: the physical and/or mental impact of yo-yo dieting, the similarity of reported symptoms with those associated with eating disorders, familial and sociocultural pressure for initiating diets and the struggle for control and/or identity. Furthermore, there appears to be a link between yo-yo dieting and interviewees’ references to depressive mood episodes. The implications of these findings for the risks of developing eating disorders are discussed.