Hacking Your Holiday Eating

Pennsylvania: At this point, you’ve made it past the Halloween candy. You’ve gotten through Thanksgiving dinner — and dessert — without a problem. But now, you’re squarely in the holiday [eating] season, complete with fruitcake, gingerbread cookies, and holiday party punch. Each year around this time, we start to see articles about the calorie count in a Thanksgiving feast, as tallied by Consumer Reports; hacks for how to avoid holiday weight gain as seen in the Los Angeles Times; and substitute ingredients for making healthier holiday treats, as suggested by SELF magazine. For many, the worry of holiday eating stops at the waistline – the fear that they might pick up an extra pound or two of “insulation” this winter is enough to keep them from going back for the second slice of pie – but for those with diabetes, eating disorders, or those battling obesity, there is far more of a risk associated with these indulgences.

Why so many people regain weight after dieting

TheConversation: Anyone who has tried to lose weight and keep it off knows how difficult the task can be. It seems like it should be simple: Just exercise to burn more calories and reduce your calorie intake. But many studies have shown that this simple strategy doesn’t work very well for the vast majority of people. A dramatic example of the challenges of maintaining weight loss comes from a recent National Institutes of Health study. The researchers followed 14 contestants who had participated in the “World’s Biggest Loser” reality show. During the 30 weeks of the show, the contestants lost an average of over 125 pounds per person. But in the six years after the show, all but one gained back most of their lost weight, despite continuing to diet and exercise.

Why frequent dieting makes you put on weight – and what to do about it

TheConversation: People who regularly go on diets tend to lose weight initially but bounce back and even gain weight after stopping the regime. This phenomenon – dubbed yo-yo dieting – is associated with changes in metabolism and is one reason why the vast majority of calorie-based diets fail. But exactly what causes these metabolic changes has remained a mystery – until now.

Adult weight gain could increase cancer risk

Manchester: Substantial weight gain over many years increases the risk of obesity-related cancers in men by 50 percent and in women by almost 20 percent, according to new research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute’s (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, today (Monday). Researchers at The University of Manchester and The Health eResearch Centre, looked at weight gain over many years and assessed the risk of developing obesity-related cancers. This is a new way of looking at the long-term impact of being obese throughout a person’s life and the link to developing cancer.

Older adults gain weight when spouse is stressed out

Ann Arbor: Stress isn't good for your waist line. For older married couples, the added pounds may be caused by a spouse's long-term stress levels. A new University of Michigan study looked at how the negative quality of marriage can be detrimental for weight gain—possibly leading to obesity—when couples 50 and older are stressed. The results varied by gender.

Women smokers concerned about weight less likely to try to quit

Illinois: Women who believe smoking helps them manage their weight are less likely to try quitting in response to anti-smoking policies than other female smokers in the U.S. The study, published online in the journal Tobacco Control, is the first to find that smokers who are concerned about their weight are less swayed by anti-smoking policies  – such as bumps in cigarette prices, smoke-free laws or anti-tobacco messaging — than other smokers are.

Night light may be linked to weight gain

Scimex: A Dutch study of mice found exposure to artificial light after dark may be linked to weight gain because the body reacts by burning less energy to keep warm, rather than eating more or curbing activity levels. Brown fat - the 'healthy' fat our bodies burn to stay warm - is inactivated by artificial light during the night, they say, so finding ways to reactivate it may help prevent weight gain associated with unnatural light regimes.

How to work out how much food you should eat

Sidney University. Australia: Dietary guidelines broadly recommend a daily intake of 10,000 kilojoules (2,400 calories) for men and 8,000 kilojoules (1,900 calories) for women. But what do these figures mean in the context of the number of kilojoules or calories you personally need to consume to attain and maintain a healthy body weight?

Obesity

Author: Dr Robert Baron University of California San Francisco 2008-07-13
Obesity is both preventable and treatable. This article, written by the Director of the Weight Management Program at UCSF, presents both an evidence-based review of the scientific literature and numerous "clinical pearls" to help lose weight and successfully keep it off.