A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association has found that yo-yo dieting suppresses the immune system.

Although this is only a preliminary study, the researchers found that “frequent weight loss episodes were associated with significantly decreased natural-killer-cell activity” and “(t)hose who reported losing weight more than five times had about a third lower natural-killer-cell function.”

Once again, I’d like to say that health-wise, remaining active and eating a healthy diet is far more important than getting one’s weight down to some arbitary number. Yes, weight loss is important, but more important is eating well and exercising regularly. Yes, both activities may take extra effort, but even small steps, such as cutting out sodas and junkfood, and taking the stairs or parking at the far end of the parking lot will help.

I highly recommend Andrew Weil’s Eating Well for Optimum Health if you are intereted in nutrition and health. Although he looks like a flake, his dietary recommendations are grounded in science and are reasonable and practical.

But if you’re only going to remember one thing about weight loss, make it exercise.