Scientists have confirmed that the majority of overweight people who try to lose weight either by cutting calories or exercising will return to their former size.
科学家已证实，绝大多数试图通过节食或运动减肥的超重人群都会反弹回原来的体重。
在每年1200万节食(go on a diet)的英国人中，只有不到10%能成功减去大量体重(lose significant amounts of weight)，绝大多数人会在一年内反弹回去(put it all back on again within a year)。一项对2.5万人进行调查的研究进一步印证了"溜溜球节食效应"的普遍性(provide further evidence of the prevalence of "yo-yo dieting")，它是指减肥者陷入反复减肥的恶性循环。
该研究项目负责人丽贝卡·哈代博士说："人们一旦超重，就会一发不可收拾地胖下去(once people become overweight, they continue relentlessly upwards)，很难瘦回来。有些人可以减掉一些体重，但很少有人减到正常(very few get back to normal)。最好的办法(the best policy)就是从一开始就不要长胖。"