Studies have found that women dieters who weigh themselves frequently tend to lose more weight than those who hit the scales only intermittently, but it’s probably not a good idea to step on that terrifying machine more than you have to.

Joe Shrand, an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, told www.thatsfit.com that "the biggest reason for not weighing daily is that it can lead to an unhealthy obsession with the scale and ultimately…to eating disorders.” He suggested that while it can be good for some people to weigh themselves daily, “anyone who has had an eating disorder or is really bothered by the number on the scale shouldn't."

The website reported on just how much women are “really bothered” by the scales, citing an art installation called “Scale Dances.” Emily Caigan, an art professor, arranged her collection of fifty vintage weight scales (including a scale for Barbie that is always 110 pounds), and thatsfit.com writer Liz Neporent watched as women walked into the room and saw the scales.

“One woman shouted, ‘No, no, no!’ as soon as she entered the room,” Neporent wrote. “Another simply shut her eyes and walked out. One woman burst into tears when she came around the corner and found herself face to face with fifty bathroom scales. There wasn't a single woman who didn't have a strong reaction -- whether fear, disgust or horror…” Men, Neporent observed, had a neutral or amused reaction.

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Caigan came up with the term “scale dances” after interviewing hundreds of women and asking them whether they engaged in any rituals when they weighed themselves.”

A dieter told Caigan that she weighed a five-pound bag of sugar on the scale to make sure it was accurate before she stepped on it. Another used two scales, “placing a foot on each and then adding the numbers together.” A third woman cleaned her scale with Windex and held her breath before checking her weight.

Anyone who’s that affected by weighing herself, thatsfit.com says, is better off getting weighed at the doctor’s office—and not in between visits.

So step away from the scale, girls; it’s time to end the dance. (www.thatsfit.com)

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