The science of fighting fat
Has Christmas taken its toll on your waistline? We navigate through the minefield of misinformation to find out what the experts really say about losing weight. 11, rn to page 56 for smart tips on how to shed that spare tyre
Got a little bit of post-Christmas podge? Put down the diet book and read our tips.
The statistics tell their own story. One in four people in England are now classified as obese, compared with one in six in the 1990s. Fiftyeight per cent of women and 68 per cent of men are now overweight.
Being overweight makes us less healthy: a new study published in Lancet Public
Healthh shows a clear relationship between hospital admissions and body weight. But it also matters because being overweight makes many people unhappy.
A British Social Attitudes survey revealed that people who are overweight suffer significant stigma, and that 53 per cent of the British public are intolerant, believing that most overweight people could lose weight if they tried. But the science shows that it’s not simply a matter of being weak-willed.
“There are very clear reward pathways for food in the brain, and so if something is rewarding and constantly available, why wouldn’t you?” explains Prof Susan Jebb, a nutrition scientist at Oxford University. “In busy and stressed lives, you have to make a constant conscious effort to say no.” Fortunately, science is now providing some answers on weight control. Just a decade ago, there weren’t enough scientific diet trials to allow doctors and dietitians to provide evidence- backed advice. Now, there are clear scientific pointers on how to fight fat, and what the studies find may surprise you.