Eat a little less, and a little more sensibly

No one diet is better than any other – eat food that you like that is high in fiber and lower in calories, saturated fat; and not “junk food”, snacks, and soft drinks.

Take more time eating and chew thoroughly. Increase vegetable intake to help in losing fat. Drink less sugary drinks and be more active.

Quote of the decade: “Weight-loss studies require participants to eat less.”

Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates N Engl J Med 2009;360:859-73.

Highlights:

• The participants were eager to lose weight: at 6 months, participants assigned to any of the diets had lost an average of 6 kg.
• The diets were equally successful in promoting clinically meaningful weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss over the course of 2 years.
• Study participants who attended two thirds of the sessions over the course of 2 years lost about 9 kg of weight.
• The goal for physical activity was 90 minutes of moderate exercise per week.

The volunteers were followed for two years, much longer than most diet studies. But even with close encouragement and monitoring, dieting is clearly not the answer to the obesity problem. We need to enjoy our food, and enjoy being more active.

This means we must target behavior changes - reducing television viewing, sugar drinks and energy dense snacks; increasing water consumption, fruit intake, "active transport" (i.e. walking more) and being active after work or school and at weekends.