Weight Control. What Works? What Doesn’t?

Is your bathroom scale depressing you? How about your mirror? Are you one of the ~36% of all Americans considered obese and at increased risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, gall stones, gout, osteoarthritis, infertility, some cancers and, not surprisingly, depression?

If so, Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to help by forbidding sale of extra large size sugary drinks. This is an understandable response to the fact that 70% of his Bronx-dwelling constituents are obese, but the question is, “Will it help?” The answer an unsatisfying, “Maybe.” After all, put simply, a spike in blood sugar causes insulin release and insulin causes the body to store fat, making drinking a soda while eating a hamburger and fries a very bad idea.

But, those of us who have tried to lose weight know that it is not as easy as just cutting down on sugary drinks. In fact, even substituting them with diet drinks does not seem to help. We also know that diet pills are dangerous and that bariatric surgery can lead to untold health problems. So, what is the answer?

Again, it is not the easy option. Rather, it is as we already know: to eat a diet majoring on as many vegetables and fruit as one may desire (5-10 servings per day), limited whole grain carbohydrates, small portions of beans and low fat meats, and probably no sugary drinks. There are no shortcuts, but there is hope–and our lives may depend on it.

For more good diet advice, see this site.