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Diets can be boring and there's always a temptation to return to old habits.

Serial dieters may also become discouraged and give up when their weight plateaus.

People who lose too much too soon don't learn to make the overall lifestyle changes - eating healthier foods and exercising regularly - that are necessary to keep their weight stable.

"It's just plain difficult to modify your diet and turn away from the pleasures of eating," said Michael Goran, an obesity researcher at the University of Southern California.

"We're driven to eat." The UCLA researchers analyzed 31 diet studies that followed people two to five years after they went on diets.

Between one-third and two-thirds gained back the weight they lost.

A small number were able to successfully maintain their weight loss.

The UCLA study did not compare individual fad diets or organized weight-loss programs.

"We're not saying don't make some kind of effort," said Traci Mann, the UCLA psychologist who led the study.

"It means that people should be quite clear that a diet is a temporary fix." The study appeared in the April issue of American Psychologist, a publication of the American Psychological Association.

Perry, who owns a public relations firm in suburban Philadelphia, was an "emotional eater" who found comfort in food whenever she felt angry or depressed.

For the past 20 years,...

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