Weight Loss Wednesday: New Report on Diet and Health
I’m not sure I agree with the way this NYT article starts out, but the underlying study that the story is covering is getting much press and for good reason: Harvard researchers tracked the eating habits of many people over a long time and came up with several interesting findings about food choices related to weight gain and loss as well as the role of exercise.
The gist of the study, titled “Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men,” is that:
“Specific dietary and other lifestyle behaviors may affect the success of the straightforward-sounding strategy ‘eat less and exercise more’ or preventing long-term weight gain.”
The Times article implied that we should throw out the calorie counting, but researchers seem to be saying that if you only count calories, you’ll be missing part of the equation. The kinds of calories you’re eating matter quite a bit. But that doesn’t mean you can eat as much of the “good” foods as you want (in other words, the total calories still matter).
Interesting findings are that cheese had a “neutral” effect on weight gain, and that yogurt and peanut butter were linked to weight loss. The least surprising finding is that french fries are really, really bad (and probably much worse smothered in mayonnaise).
Here is a link to the abstract of the study, published June 23, 2011, in the New England Journal of Medicine. The full article, and all its glorious details about good and bad foods, can be purchased at the site.