Healthy Weight
Move more, eat less. Turning off the television and skipping the sugary drinks can help.
Weight is a tough issue. Most people know how important it is to keep weight in check yet struggle to do so. And it’s understandable in today’s world where calorie-packed food comes fast and easy. But, the health benefits of staying at a healthy weight are huge and well worth the effort. In addition to lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure, keeping weight in check can also lower the risk of many different cancers, including breast, colon, kidney, pancreas, and esophagus.
Because most people put on a pound or two every year, the first, and easiest, goal should be to stop any more weight gain, which has big health benefits itself. After that, getting weight down to a healthy level should be the next step. Quick weight control tips? Get active, choose smaller portions, and eat more s-l-o-w-l-y.
5 Quick Tips: Achieving a Healthy Weight
1. Ban the strange diets. They may work in the short term, but almost any strange, extreme diet is doomed to fail. Your best friends when it comes to losing weight—and keeping it off? Choosing healthy foods (check out the Healthy Eating Pyramid for ideas) and eating smaller portions, slowly.
2. Be more active. If there’s one best weight loss mantra it’s “exercise, exercise, exercise.” Choose activities you enjoy and do them every day. Exercising with a friend can help keep you on track. For tips on how to fit exercise into your lifestyle, check out the Staying Active section of Nutrition Source.
3. Turn off the television. Watching less TV can give you more time to be active—and less time to be enticed by junk food ads. Two easy ways to cut back on TV-watching: take the TV out of your bedroom, and make sure it’s off during meals.
4. Skip the sugary drinks. Drinking sugared soda, fruit drinks, or juice can give you several hundred calories a day without realizing it. Research suggests children and adults who drink soda or other sugary drinks are more likely to gain weight than those who don’t, and that switching from these to water or unsweetened drinks can reduce weight.
5. Think before you eat. Before you mindlessly reach for a snack, pause and ask yourself, Am I really hungry? Is there a healthier choice? It’s easy to lose sight of good food choices in today’s ad-crazy world. Simple questions like these can help keep us on track.
Read the full article on healthy weight.
Check out The Obesity Prevention Source, a new website from the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, and its Healthy Weight Checklist.
Read why excess weight is not good for you, and why a new study that claims that mild obesity decreases mortality is flawed!
Read more about a new study from Harvard School of Public Health that finds that small diet changes can have a big impact on weight over time.
Read the The New England Coalition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NECON)-HSPH guidelines for healthy weight control.
Terms of Use
The aim of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source is to provide timely information on diet and nutrition for clinicians, allied health professionals, and the public. The contents of this Web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Web site. The information does not mention brand names, nor does it endorse any particular products.