Staying Slim More Complex than Previously Thought

The adage "Eat less, exercise more" generally works, but new research suggests that half the fight to stay slim lies in long-term lifestyle changes and eating the right foods.

One study in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that avoiding fattening foods and sugar-heavy beverages reduces weight gain, yet some foods are far better at keeping the pounds off.

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To better understand the relationships among lifestyles, food and weight, the team approached the problem in reverse. Rather than studying weight loss in overweight or obese individuals, scientists looked at how certain activities and diet affected weight gain over several years.

Using data tracking 120,877 healthy U.S. men and women for 12 and 20 years, researchers surveyed lifestyle variables such as exercise, TV time, sleep and alcohol use. Because smoking affects weight loss and gain, scientists considered it a variable likely to skew results. They also surveyed the types of foods consumed, but could not always know portion sizes.

The obvious: Those gaining the least amount of weight also received six to eight hours of sleep, exercised, consumed less alcohol, watched less TV and ate healthier foods. On the other hand, weight gain was most strongly associated with the intake of potato chips, potato products, sweetened beverages, sweets, and processed and unprocessed red meats.

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