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The Incentives Lab
HBT-INC-0093 · Dimension INC · Incentives

Diet Culture Cycles

Short-term restriction regimes drive yo-yo cycles and worsen long-term metabolic health.

Personal Perverse Pattern·Perverse Incentive·Grade C·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Short-term restriction regimes drive yo-yo cycles and worsen long-term metabolic health.

Plain-English Definition

Short-term restriction regimes drive yo-yo cycles and worsen long-term metabolic health.

Feynman Explanation

We sold the cycle, not the cure.

Core Principle

Short-term restriction regimes drive yo-yo cycles and worsen long-term metabolic health.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Short-term restriction regimes drive yo-yo cycles and worsen long-term metabolic health.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Recurring purchase is the business model.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Pending editorial review.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

We sold the cycle, not the cure.

Examples

Everyday
  • Long-cycle weight regain rates in commercial diet programs.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Recurring purchase is the business model.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Behavioral, food-environment-first interventions.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
C (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
4 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Recurring purchase is the business model.
Amplifying Incentives
Recurring purchase is the business model.
Org Failure Modes
Recurring purchase is the business model.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Behavioral, food-environment-first interventions.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Behavioral, food-environment-first interventions.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Behavioral, food-environment-first interventions.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-INC-0093 · INC
Diet Culture Cycles
DCST'Spend to Save' Prom…AFAesthetic-First Fitn…CDComfort-Seeking Defa…EVExternal Validation …GFGoal FixationLPLoyalty Program Cons…MIMultitasking IllusionPAPerfectionism as Avo…TTTime-Tracking TheaterMA15-Minute Appointments

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.