According to Michigan State research, women regularly eating ready-to-eat cereal for breakfast were less likely to be overweight or obese. Cereal eaters also were slimmer than women eating something else for breakfast. (No such association was found for men.) Eating cereal usually means adding milk (calcium), which has been proved to help control body fat.
According to Michigan State research, women regularly eating ready-to-eat cereal for breakfast were less likely to be overweight or obese. Cereal eaters also were slimmer than women eating something else for breakfast. (No such association was found for men.) Eating cereal usually means adding milk (calcium), which has been proved to help control body fat.
The National Weight Control Registry is a database of those who have self-reported a weight loss of 30 pounds or more and kept it off for at least a year. Its members share information about their efforts to lose weight and maintain it. NWCR data is a report of successful attempts, not a comparison study of people who have successfully or unsuccessfully lost weight. Participants of NWCR were asked questions about how they lost weight. Here are the findings:
- 89% changed their diets and took up physical activities; 10% only modified their diet, and 1% increased activity only.
- 55% took part in a formal program, such as Weight Watchers, or used professional help of a dietitian, psychologist, etc.
- 87.6% limited some type of food, especially high-fat and high-calorie foods.
- 44.2% limited the quantities of food they consumed.
- 43.7% counted calories.
- 92% did physical exercises at home, 40.3% exercised regularly with a friend and 31.3% exercised regularly with a group.
- The most common form of activity was walking.
- 77% admitted that a medical or emotional event activated their weight loss.
- 42.7% said losing weight was hard, 31.4% said it was moderately hard and 25.7% said it was easy.
- 2/3 of participants were overweight as children (about 46% became overweight at the age of 11 years or younger, and 25.3% between 12 and 18).
- 46% had one biological overweight parent and 26.8% indicated that both biological parents were overweight.
- 91% had tried to lose weight previously.
Comparing successful weight loss attempts to previous ones, NWCR investigators discovered that:
- 81.3% used more physical activity.
- 63% had a stricter diet.
As a result of weight loss, 85% people reported better physical health, improvements in quality of life, energy level, physical mobility, general mood and self-confidence.
As you can see, successful weight loss has no guaranteed magic formula. The aim is to search for reasonable strategies working for you and your lifestyle.
