From: abulsari@aton.abo.fi
Subject: Weight control
Weight: 56 kg
Organization: Abo Akademi University
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 09:57:25 GMT

I got this from Michael  Traub, and  probably originates from  Ferrell
Wheeler.

PERMANENT WEIGHT CONTROL
     Many people believe that, to  lose  weight,  they have to go on a
low- calorie diet. That often means starving oneself until the diet is
no longer tolerable. Then the weight goes right back on~and then some.
Happily, there is a much better way. It  is easy and offers many other
health benefits, too.

* No More Diets
     The first thing to realize is that changing eating habits must be
more than a short-term means to an end. Changing  eating habits is the
cornerstone  of permanent  weight  control.  There  is  no way to lose
"twenty   pounds   in   two   short  weeks"  and  to  make   it  last.
Very-low-calorie diets  cause two  major problems:  they  lower  one's
metabolic  rate,  making  it  harder to slim  down,  and they  lead to
binging.

* Fat versus Complex Carbohydrates
     The  old  myth  was  that pasta, bread,  potatoes,  and  rice are
fattening. Not  true. In fact, carbohydrate-rich foods are perfect for
permanent  weight control.  Carbohydrates  contain less than half  the
calories of fat, which means that  replacing fatty  foods with complex
carbohydrates  automatically cuts calories. But calories are only part
of  the story. Since  the beginning of the century, caloric intake has
decreased  in America~but,  at the  same time, Americans  have  gotten
fatter.  A  recent study in China found that, on  the average, Chinese
people eat  twenty percent  more calories than Americans, but they are
also  slimmer.1  Part  of  this  is  due  to  the  sedentary  American
lifestyle, but is more to it than exercise alone.  Earlier studies had
shown  that obese people do not  consume more  calories than non-obese
people~in many cases, they consume less.2,3
     The body treats carbohydrates differently  from fat calories. The
difference comes with how the body stores the energy of different food
types.  It  is very inefficient for the  body to  store  the energy of
carbohydrates  as  body  fat~it  burns  twenty-three  percent  of  the
calories of  the carbohydrate but fat  is converted  easily into  body
fat. Only three  percent  of the calories  in  fat are  burned in  the
process of conversion and storage.4 It is the type of food, and not so
much the quantity, that affects body fat the most.5

* Protein
     Although protein and carbohydrates have almost the same number of
calories per gram, foods that are high in  protein~particularly animal
products~are usually  high in fat  too. Even "lean" cuts of meat  have
much more  fat than a healthy  body needs. And animal products  always
lack  fiber.  Fiber helps  make  foods more satisfying without  adding
many calories, and it is only found in foods from plants.

* Exercise
     Exercise  is essential. Aerobic exercise speeds  up the breakdown
of fat  in one's body and makes sure that muscle is not  lost.  Toning
exercises and  weight-lifting help  firm muscles and  increase  muscle
mass.  A combination  of  exercises  will help one achieve  a slimmer,
firmer,  healthier body in a shorter  period of  time. The trick is to
find  activities  that one enjoys and  that  can  fit one's lifestyle.
Walking is popular because it requires no special equipment and can be
done anywhere at anytime.

* Conclusion
     The best weight  control program is  a high-complex-carbohydrate,
low-fat, vegetarian diet complemented by regular exercise. This is the
best choice for a healthier, longer, happier life.
     For more information,  we  recommend The Power of  Your Plate, by
Dr. Neal  Barnard, and  The Guide  to  Healthy  Eating,  a  bi-monthly
nutrition  magazine  published   by   the  Physicians   Committee  for
Responsible Medicine.  For more information on these publications call
(202) 686-2210.

References:

1. China: a living lab for epidemiology. Science 1990;248:553-555.
2. Garrow JS. Energy Balance and Obesity in Man. New York: Elsevier, 1974.
3. Braitman LS, Adlin E, Stanton JL. Obesity and caloric intake: the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1971-75 (HANES I). J
Chronic Dis 1985;38:727-32.
4. Flatt JP. Energetics of intermediary metabolism. Found in: Garrow JS,
Halliday D, eds. Substrate and Energy Metabolism in Man. London: John
Libbey and Co., 1985;58-69.
5. Dreon DM, Frey-Hewitt B, et al. Dietary fat: carbohydrate ratio and
obesity in middle-aged men. Am J Clin Nutr 1988;47:995-1000.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
P.O. Box 6322
Washington, DC 20015
(202) 686-2210


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