14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists at the University of Colorado say that the United States would do well to change the plans it currently uses to combat obesity. According to the research team here, a new approach towards stopping the spread of the obesity epidemic is desperately needed.
At this point, most of the approaches involve fat people consuming only small amounts of food, which should theoretically lead to weight loss. However, the diets people need to stick by are extremely rigorous, and require a level of commitment that not many people are capable of.
Instead, the UCB experts suggest that efforts should be focused on achieving a correct energy balance, as in people should strive to match the amount of calories they consume to the number of calories they expand during a normal day.
The focus of the new research is a healthy body weight level defined under the aforementioned parameters. Details of the approach appear in the latest issue of the esteemed journal Circulation.
The main proponent and supporter of the new approach, expert James O. Hill, PhD, believes that the current debate raging on in the international scientific community, which deals with whether excessive food intake, fast-food consumption and low amounts of physical activity cause obesity, is misguided.
Instead, those who feel or are told that they are overweight should try to balance the amount of food they eat daily with the amount of fat their bodies naturally store, and with the amount of calories they burn through their daily routines and physical exercises.
The natural tendency of the human body, the UCB team explains, is to preserve weight and fat, in case reserves are needed at some time. This inherent state is the main enemy facing weight loss efforts, and as such needs to be overcome. The “battle” must be waged delicately, without risking damage.
“A healthy body weight is best maintained with a higher level of physical activity than is typical today and with an energy intake that matches. What we are really talking about is changing the message from ‘Eat Less, Move More’ to ‘Move More, Eat Smarter’,” Hill explains.
“We are not going to reduce obesity by focusing only on reducing food intake. Without increasing physical activity in the population we are simply promoting unsustainable levels of food restriction. This strategy hasn’t worked so far and it is not likely to work in the future,” he adds.
If people continue to consume the type of highly-processed, fat-rich foods they do today, then there is no point in them attempting to lose weight, PsychCentral reports. Without an effort of will to engage in physical exercises and a healthier diet, they will remain fat until the end of time.