New Weight Loss Research

Grab your morning cup of coffee or take a 10 minute break from your day to read this article, by Jane Brody published in the New York Times on July 18,2011.

Still Counting Calories? Your Weight-Loss Plan May Be Outdated

The article reports on new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine: "Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men" (Mozaffarian, et al, 2011). Nurses, doctors, dentists and veterinarians were followed for 12-20 years to collect data on their eating and exercise habits and then how their weight changed over those years. Here are some highlights:

1. The average participant gained 3.35 pounds every 4 years: total weight gain of 16.8 pounds in 20 years

2. The kinds of foods people ate had a larger effect over all than changes in physical activity

3. The foods that contributed to the greatest weight gain:

#1: French fries were linked to an average weight gain of 3.4 pounds in each four-year period.

Others:
potato chips (1.7 pounds)
sugar-sweetened drinks (1 pound)
red meats and processed meats (0.95 and 0.93 pound, respectively)
other forms of potatoes (0.57 pound)
sweets and desserts (0.41 pound)
refined grains (0.39 pound)
other fried foods (0.32 pound)
100-percent fruit juice (0.31 pound)
butter (0.3 pound)

4. Foods that resulted in weight loss or no gain when consumed in greater amounts during the study: fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

5. Despite conventional advice to eat less fat, weight loss was greatest among people who ate more yogurt and nuts, including peanut butter, over each four-year period.

6. Yogurt, among all foods, was most strongly linked to weight loss! Participants who ate more yogurt lost an average of 0.82 pound every four years