{"id":33533,"date":"2013-09-11T16:42:51","date_gmt":"2013-09-11T16:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=33533"},"modified":"2017-04-27T08:23:14","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T13:23:14","slug":"real-weight-loss-isnt-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/real-weight-loss-isnt-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"What is real About Weight Loss and what isn\u2019t! (Part II)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Diet<\/a>(My next column will<\/i> appear after Succot.\u00a0 A K\u2019tiva V\u2019Chatima Tova to all of Clal Yisrael.\u00a0 May this be a year of complete health and happiness for each and every one of us and a year where we all increase our personal efforts to bring that about.)<\/i><\/p>\n

In part I of this article, we saw how having a low metabolism doesn\u2019t doom someone to being overweight. Yes, it is a valuable tool in weight loss and something necessary for good health but it doesn’t come close to taking care of weight loss without a change in eating habits as well.<\/p>\n

Third, don\u2019t blame your GENES!<\/p>\n

Steven Blair, a professor of public health at the University of South Carolina, poses these rhetorical questions: \u201cAre your genetics driving you to eat more? Move less? Genetics hasn\u2019t caused the obesity epidemic because our genetics haven\u2019t changed in the last 30 years.\u201d While our genes are most likely not responsible for the prevalence of obesity, they may give us an advantage (or disadvantage) , weight-wise.<\/p>\n

Melinda Johnson, registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, says: \u201cWhile genes strongly decide the shape of your body, peoples\u2019 lifestyle (primarily eating too much and moving too little) is by far the main reason they are fat. Research has shown that our eating and exercise habits are heavily influenced by the people we spend time with the most, which is likely the main reason we see obesity running in families. Genes have an influence, but it\u2019s relatively minor for the vast majority of humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2010\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0of twins was conducted at the Institute of Preventive Medicine at Copenhagen University Hospital. Danish researchers concluded that the evidence that genes could affect the proportions of the human body had been overestimated and couldn\u2019t explain the increase in obesity over the past 70 years. They also suggested that environmental factors, such as habitual diet, must therefore play an important role in the obesity epidemic\u2014and there was very limited evidence that genes influenced diet.<\/p>\n

And finally fourth, DON\u2019T GO ON A DIET!<\/b><\/p>\n

Why are so many people keen to embrace the latest dietary fad? More than likely\u00a0they hear about them via the media, says Dr. Joseph Donnelly, professor and director of the Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management, University of Kansas. \u201cThis, of course, doesn\u2019t make it correct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember,\u201d urges Marjorie Nolan, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, \u201cthat any diet is only as good as your ability to keep the weight off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fad diets don\u2019t work for many reasons, largely because they:<\/p>\n