The benefits of dietary restriction are not limited to a leaner body. Scientists found that people who ate much less for two years felt more fun during the day and more enjoyment at night.
This is evidenced by research data published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The results are based on the so-called CALERIE 2 test, in which the scientists recommended that a group of 200 people without weight problems either cut their total calorie intake by a quarter over two years, or continue to eat the way they used to. The diet worked: people who followed it lost an average of 10 percent, or 9 kg, weight.
Throughout the experiment, scientists assessed other factors, including quality of life, depression, sleep and sexual function, using standard indicators. It turned out that those who lost pounds gained in return a better mood, an improved quality of life, better sleep after one year on a diet and great sex after two years. At the same time, weight loss does not have to be radical. A person may not be obese in order to enjoy the benefits of weight loss.
“Subjects reported that as soon as they crossed the barrier and began to lose weight, their hunger dulled a little and they began to feel the benefits of losing weight,” says Martin Corby of the Center for Biomedical Research in Louisiana. “It was easier for them to move, their ligaments and joints hurt less, and they felt better.”
However, he warns that eating fewer calories for two full years is not easy. “Even with these benefits, it’s difficult for them to stick to their diets, especially in today’s society,” says Martin Corby. “They are fry trying to swim against the current in a world where it is very easy to consume more calories than necessary.”