Dieters who regain weight aren't necessarily slipping back into bad habits. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine put 34 people on a strict, 10-week diet. On average, the participants lost 30 pounds; but in spite of counseling and written advice about maintaining weight loss, they regained an average of 12 pounds over the next year. It seems this reaction is an evolutionary holdover from times when weight loss threatened reproduction and survival. People who lose significant weight burn calories slower. They also feel hungrier. This is due to the imbalance of 6 hormones - also known as "hor-moans".
People who find it difficult to lose weight may have the "obesity gene". Research published in PLoS Medicine analyzed data from more than 218,000 adults and found people who have a copy of the "fat mass and obesity associated" gene (the FTO gene) have an increased risk of obesity. However, the risk was 27% lower for those who were physically active. About 1 hour of exercise 5 days a week was enough to counteract the gene - exercise like walking the dog, cycling to work and tending the garden. Of course, without exercise we all have a "fat chance" of losing weight.
People who feel they lack power choose super-sized portions. That was the result of a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Researchers asked half of the students to remember a situation in which they felt powerful and the other half were asked to remember one in which they felt powerless. Then both groups were asked to choose a smoothie from 3 sizes. The powerful-situation students were likeliest to choose the smallest size smoothie and the powerless-situation students were likeliest to choose the biggest. It seems that going out to eat can be a "power trip".
Finally, men are almost as likely as women to binge-eat. They are also likely to have the same problems associated with binge-eating, such as depression and obesity. A study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders examined 46,351 people. Eleven percent of women and 7.5% of men binged. Thirty-seven percent of the male bingers were in treatment for depression or reported symptoms of depression compared to 12% who weren't bingers. Sixty-four percent of male binge-eaters were obese compared to 33% of non-binge-eaters. In 2011 four million Americans binge-eat. A disorder historically associated with women also "eats away at" men.
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