Here are some sound advise and stats from Susan Roberts, PhD, director of the Tufts University Energy Metabolism Laboratory in Boston.
- More than half of the American population is dieting each year. And nearly all dieters regain their lost pounds in short order.
- Consumers are spending an estimated $35 billion a year on weight-loss products and services.
- Since the mid-1970s, the number of calories the average person has consumed each day has increased by about the equivalent of an extra meal.
- And the two food ingredients that account for most of the added calories are high fructose corn syrup and oil. Flour, cheese, shortening and edible beef tallow each contribute a bit more.
- What has not increased is the consumption of beef, seafood, candy, chocolate and chips. Consumption of ice cream and frozen desserts actually fell by 13%.
- Boosting the amount of energy burned by the body is a good way to shed extra pounds, but to maintain weight loss, food intake must drop permanently.
- No weight-loss program can work overnight, despite advertised claims.
- Losing significant amounts of fat is a long-term project.
- Weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds per week is the maximum that can be expected with realistic expectations.
- Roberts recommends consuming foods that help satisfy “basic hard-wired biology.”
- Hunger is one pressing need that should be satisfied with high-fiber, high-protein foods rather than cookies and chips. The desire for variety can be met with salads, soups and fruit.
- Often, “we eat it because it’s there,” she said, citing a study in which people opted to eat the larger bucket of stale popcorn rather than a smaller amount of freshly popped kernels.
- Consumers must take charge of their food environment to make it easier to lose weight, and parents should play a role in the types of food served to their children at school.
