What condition is defined by the return to previous eating habits after initial weight loss?

The concept being touched upon here relates to the tendency of individuals who have lost weight to revert to their former eating behaviors, often leading to regaining the weight they originally lost. The term that best describes this phenomenon is "weight cycling."

Weight cycling refers to the pattern of losing weight and then regaining it, which can occur multiple times. This cycle often happens after an individual has adhered to a specific diet or weight loss program but later resumes their previous eating habits due to various psychological, social, or physiological factors. Thus, understanding weight cycling is crucial in obesity medicine, as it highlights the challenges individuals face in maintaining long-term weight loss and the importance of sustainable lifestyle changes.

While terms like "relapse syndrome," "priority fatigue," and "commitment dissociation" may describe certain aspects of behavior change or weight management to some extent, they do not specifically capture the cycle of losing and regaining weight in the way that "weight cycling" does. Hence, the recognition of weight cycling is essential for developing strategies that promote lasting effects in weight management and addressing the psychological and emotional factors that contribute to this cycle.