The January 31 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine contains the, to date, definitive review of what is known about obesity, not based on wishful thinking, voodoo, Dr. Oz and his fellow food quacks, the Internet, or any other folklore but on, shockingly, DATA.
Among the myths (PROVEN to be false):
small changes in caloric balance can result in large, long term weight loss; physical education classes prevent or reduce obesity; breast feeding (and by implication the HCG DIET, the latest toxic and costly fad based actually on a 500 Kcal intake) is protective against obesity; and sexual activity burns 100-300 Kcal. per episode. (Too bad.)
UNPROVEN (NO DATA) presumptions include: eating breakfast prevents obesity; eating fruits and vegetables ("fat burning foods") will result in weight loss even without calorie restriction; and snacking leads to obesity. (Nice!)
FACTS (DATA) include: environment can overcome genetics; increased exercise improves health regardless of weight; physical activity can lead to long-term weight loss; continuation of weight loss initiatives maintains weight loss (!); set meals and meal substitutes can promote weight loss; some pharmaceutical agents (NOT INCLUDING MAGIC SUPPLEMENTS) can help achieve and maintain weight loss; bariatric surgery can produce long-term weight loss.
To those of us who follow this issue, none of this is surprising. To the shysters making money off of gullible and uneducated consumers, these findings are a conspiracy (against lies, in my view). To the obese and to scientifically-oriented caregivers, they should be helpful.
Eat less, exercise more. I'll take my Nobel, now.
Once upon a time most people were facing obesity problems and nobody have don’t know the reason behind this problem. Here I learned at that time the new england journal of medicine gives the facts and myths about this disease. This information is also useful in present days. It is a very informative blog. Thanks for sharing. Along with this article, I would like to share some important facts about the hammerhead sharks habitat which were a group of sharks that form the family sphyrnidae.
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