Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Weight Loss Fact or Fiction
How well informed are you on the subject of weight loss? Take our quiz to find out your weight loss IQ.
Questions:
- True or False: About half of all adults in the United States are overweight or obese.
- True or False: No matter what your weight, you can measure your overall risk of developing several serious diseases by measuring your waist.
- True or False: The estimated daily calorie requirement for a moderately active woman over age 50 is, on average, 1,800 calories.
- True or False: At McDonald's, a Southwest salad with grilled chicken and ranch dressing has more calories than a Quarter Pounder.
- True or False: You should avoid having soup before a meal because it adds excess calories.
Answers:
- False. Two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese -- a statistic that's gone up almost 50% since 1960. Bottom line: We live in an environment where most people eat too much and exercise too little.
- True. People with apple-shaped bodies have more abdominal fat than same-weight people with pear-shaped bodies. An increased waist measurement indicates more abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The risk is highest in men whose waist measurement is over 40 inches and women whose waist measures over 35 inches, no matter what their weight. Bottom line: If your waist measurement is too high, make weight loss a top priority.
- True. Moderately active women over age 50 need about 1,800 calories a day to maintain their weight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Sedentary women of that age need about 200 calories less per day, and very active women require about 200 to 400 calories more. Bottom line: Knowing your daily calorie goal can help you eat the right.
- True. The salad has 490 calories; the burger has 410 calories. The culprit in the salad is the 170 calories in the full-fat ranch dressing. Bottom line: While we don't advocate eating at McDonald's, this shows that when you're dining out you should not assume salad is the lowest-calorie choice.
- False. Filling up on soup may help you cut calories. In a study published in the journal Appetite, researchers at Penn State University provided test meals to 60 normal-weight volunteers once a week for five weeks. Researchers found that the people who ate a serving of vegetable soup 15 minutes before the rest of their meal ate 20% fewer calories during the meal than the ones who had no soup. Bottom line: Say yes to a cup of low-fat vegetable soup before a meal -- it provides nutrient-rich vegetables and may help you eat less.
Posted in Nutrition and Weight Control on February 17, 2010
Reviewed January 2011
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
Notify Me
Would you like us to inform you when we post new Nutrition and Weight Control Health Alerts?
Comments
Health Alerts registered users may post comments and share experiences here at their own discretion. We regret that questions on individual health concerns to the Johns Hopkins editors cannot be answered in this space.
The views expressed here do not constitute medical advice, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins Medicine or Remedy Health Media, LLC, which has no responsibility for any comments posted on this site.
We live in an environment where most people spike their insulin with WAY more starch and sugar than they need, driving insulin resistance, rebound hunger and fat storage. Yet they think they're doing the right thing because the USDA says eat lots of grains (starch). Most people are not lazy gluttons, they're just responding their biochemistry. Non-starchy vegetables and low-glycemic fruits, and yes even meats (grass fed for the best fat quality), are far more nutrient-dense, and normalize the feedback loop that we call hunger.
Posted by: cngsteve | February 20, 2010 11:22 AM
Post a Comment
Already a subscriber?
Login
New to Johns Hopkins Health Alerts?
I have heard that your waistline should be one half of your height. Since I am 6 foot tall (72 inches), this would correlate to a waistline of 36 inches for optimal health. Is this correct information?
Posted by: claybrook | February 20, 2010 10:13 AM