Category: Weight Loss

This small change to diet can have big results.

Foods like fruits, vegetables and beans can help with reducing belly fat and increasing weight loss, studies repeatedly find.

The reason is that they all contain high levels of soluble fibres.

Soluble fibres form a gel-like substance in the gut and this slows down the speed of digestion, making people feel less hungry.

Foods that are high in soluble fibre include:

• Pears
• Barley
• Broccoli
• Sweet potatoes
• Avocados
• Oats

As little as half a cup of pinto beans, a couple of apples and a cup of green beans each day would be enough to meet the target.

Adding some moderate exercise on top of this and belly fat was reduced by an average of over 7 percent.

Dr Kristen Hairston, the study’s first author:

“We know that a higher rate of visceral fat is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and fatty liver disease.

Our study found that making a few simple changes can have a big health impact.”

For the study, the progress of 1,114 people was tracked over 5 years.

It emerged that those who increased their soluble fibre intake by 10 grams per day lost 3.7 percent of their belly fat.

Belly fat is the fat that surrounds the vital organs, deep in the belly.

High levels of belly fat are linked to fatty diabetes, liver disease and high blood pressure.

Dr Hairston said:

“There is mounting evidence that eating more soluble fiber and increasing exercise reduces visceral or belly fat, although we still don’t know how it works.

Although the fiber-obesity relationship has been extensively studied, the relationship between fiber and specific fat deposits has not.

Our study is valuable because it provides specific information on how dietary fiber, especially soluble fiber, may affect weight accumulation through abdominal fat deposits.”

Another method by which soluble fibres can influence belly fat is that they form short-chain fatty acids in the stomach.

These decrease the storage of fat in the body and increase the rate at which the body burns fat.

The study was published in the journal Obesity (Hairston et al., 2011).

Inulin is a type of soluble fibre that can potentially aid weight loss by increasing feelings of fullness and reducing overall calorie intake.

Taking certain supplements has been shown by research to increase weight loss.

Inulin, a natural fibre available as a supplement, can even quadruple weight loss, one study has found.

Inulin is a fibre found naturally in many foods, including leeks, wheat, onions, bananas and asparagus.

The natural fibre works by reducing appetite.

It has a creamy consistency and is sometimes used in the food industry as a substitute for fat.

Inulin is low in calories, high in fibre and it can improve the health of the digestion.

Researchers repeatedly find that an increase in fibre intake can help with weight loss.

A recent study on mice fed them either a high-fat diet on its own or a high-fat diet with a fibre supplement.

After four weeks on this regime, the results showed that inulin — the fibre supplement — reduced obesity resulting from weight gain.

The size of fat cells was also reduced by supplementation with inulin.

Dr. Andrew Gewirtz, study co-author, said:

“We found that manipulating dietary fiber content, particularly by adding fermentable fiber, guards against metabolic syndrome.

This study revealed the specific mechanism used to restore gut health and suppress obesity and metabolic syndrome is the induction of IL-22 expression.

These results contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms that underlie diet-induced obesity and offer insight into how fermentable fibers might promote better health.”

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of problems including excess belly fat, high blood pressure and low levels of ‘good’ cholesterol.

Inulin also reduced bad cholesterol levels and helped to keep blood sugar more stable.

The balance of the microbes in the gut was restored by taking inulin.

The study was published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe (Zou et al., 2018).

A few glasses each day can help to increase weight loss by 100 percent.

Drinking three cups of low-fat milk each day can double weight loss, research finds.

Obese and overweight women in the study dropped 10 pounds in 8 weeks when they drank a pint-and-a-half of low-fat milk every day, along with following a diet.

Milk contains both vitamin D and calcium, which have both been linked to weight loss by research.

Around 50 percent of obese people have a calcium deficiency and half of the general population are deficient in vitamin D.

Soy milk also aided weight loss, the research found, but it was not as effective at shedding pounds as the dairy.

The study’s authors write:

“Our results showed that consumption of low-fat milk enhanced the beneficial effect of an energy restricted diet on central and general obesity and therefore a diet rich in dairy calcium could be tried in obese persons.”

One hundred women were included in the study and put on a calorie-controlled diet.

In addition, some were given three servings of low-fat milk, others soy milk and another group just a calcium supplement.

The results showed that those:

• drinking milk lost 10 pounds,
• drinking soy milk lost 8 pounds,
• taking a calcium supplement lost 8.5 pounds,
• in the control group lost 6 pounds.

The study’s authors write:

“The results of this study demonstrated that a low energy
diet (500 kcal/day deficit) for 8 weeks can lead to a significant reduction in weight, BMI [body mass index], waist circumference, WHR [waist-hip ratio], body fat mass and percent body fat.

A modest weight loss in obese individuals (5%-10% of initial body weight) is likely to improve their health in the short term by reducing the severity of comorbidities associated with obesity.

Our findings also indicate that a high milk diet can lead to
a higher reduction in weight, BMI, waist circumference, and
WHR.”

The study was published in the journal Cardiovascular Diseases (Faghih et al., 2019).

The drink may also be protective against type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Drinking a pint of low-fat milk each day could help double weight loss, researchers have found.

The healthy drink has been linked to halving fat and reducing the chance of type 2 diabetes.

Critical nutrients in milk include calcium and vitamin D, both of which have been linked to weight loss.

About 50 percent of people are deficient in vitamin D and around 50 percent of obese people have a calcium deficiency.

Low calcium levels may prompt the brain to increase food intake to get more of this mineral.

Milk may also be protective against type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of problems including excess belly fat, high blood pressure and low levels of ‘good’ cholesterol.

Milk can lower levels of insulin — the hormone that helps control blood sugar — between meals.

Dr Michael Yafi, the study’s first author, said:

“Our findings indicate that obese children who consume at least the daily recommended amount of milk may have more favorable sugar handling and this could help guard against metabolic syndrome.

Worryingly, only one in 10 young people in our study were consuming the recommended amount of milk.”

The study included 353 children who were tracked over a two-year period.

Their milk intake, along with blood glucose and other key measures, was assessed.

The results showed that drinking two cups of milk a day — roughly a pint — was linked to lower insulin levels.

Insulin is the hormone that helps stabilise blood sugar levels, with higher levels linked to type 2 diabetes.

Professor Mona Eissa, study co-author, said:

“The link between sugary drinks and childhood obesity is well-documented.

Vitamin D deficiency has also been connected to this.

By contrast, from a preventive perspective, our pilot study suggests that milk intake is not only safe but also may protect against development of metabolic syndrome.”

At least two previous study have linked milk to doubling weight loss.

The study was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna (Yafi et al., 2018).

The drink stimulate the body’s fat-fighting defences.

Drinking coffee can stimulate the body’s fat-fighting defences, research demonstrates.

Coffee helps to activate so-called ‘brown fat’, technically known as brown adipose tissue.

Unlike white fat, which simply stores excess calories, brown fat burns calories when activated (usually by low temperature).

In fact, small amounts of brown fat can burn several hundred calories per day — the same as 30-minutes of exercise.

Brown fat is typically located in the neck and the region above the collarbone.

The body usually only has a couple of ounces of brown fat, which are not visible as it lies deep below the skin.

Professor Michael Symonds, study co-author, explained:

“Brown fat works in a different way to other fat in your body and produces heat by burning sugar and fat, often in response to cold.

Increasing its activity improves blood sugar control as well as improving blood lipid levels and the extra calories burnt help with weight loss.

However, until now, no one has found an acceptable way to stimulate its activity in humans.

This is the first study in humans to show that something like a cup of coffee can have a direct effect on our brown fat functions.”

For the study, researchers examined the effect of caffeine on brown fat.

Thermal imaging showed that caffeine activates the brown fat and starts burning calories more quickly.

Professor Symonds said:

“From our previous work, we knew that brown fat is mainly located in the neck region, so we were able to image someone straight after they had a drink to see if the brown fat got hotter.

The results were positive and we now need to ascertain that caffeine as one of the ingredients in the coffee is acting as the stimulus or if there’s another component helping with the activation of brown fat.

We are currently looking at caffeine supplements to test whether the effect is similar.

Once we have confirmed which component is responsible for this, it could potentially be used as part of a weight management regime or as part of glucose regulation programme to help prevent diabetes.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Velickovic et al., 2019).

This technique helps people double their weight loss if combined with diet and exercise.

People who weigh themselves regularly lose weight without making other changes to diet or lifestyle, research finds.

Self-weighing is also effective for maintaining weight loss, studies have found.

Those trying to lose weight can even double their weight loss by simply noting down the details of their diet and exercise regime, some studies have found.

The latest study was carried out on 296 college-age women who were tracked over two years.

None of the women were enrolled in any kind of weight loss program.

The results showed that women who had at least one period of daily self-weighing experienced weight loss.

Dr Diane Rosenbaum, the study’s first author, said:

“The losses in BMI and body fat percentage were modest, but still significant, especially keeping in mind that these women were not part of a weight loss program.

We did not expect that, in the absence of a weight loss intervention, folks would be losing weight.”

This study does not necessarily show that self-weighing causes weight loss, the study’s authors write:

“It is possible that the relation between self-weighing and weight might be driven by scale avoidance among those who experienced weight gain.”

However, other studies have repeatedly linked self-weighing to weight loss.

One study has found that weighing oneself daily is linked to losing 10 percent of body weight over the year (Pacanowski & Levitsky, 2015).

Dr Meghan Butryn, study co-author, said:

“Regularly weighing yourself can motivate you to engage in healthy eating and exercise behaviors, because it provides you with evidence that these behaviors are effective in helping you lose weight or prevent weight gain.

Similarly, if you see weight gain on the scale, that information can motivate you to make a change.”

The study was published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine (Rosenbaum et al., 2017).

There is evidence that higher levels of this vitamin leads to weight loss.

Higher levels of vitamin D in the body are linked to weight loss, studies find.

People lose more weight and belly fat when their vitamin D intake is higher.

A study has shown that people drinking more milk can even double weight loss.

Milk contains both calcium and vitamin D, which have both been linked to weight loss by multiple studies.

Another study has found that people with high vitamin D levels lose 20 pounds more when they are dieting than those with lower levels.

Up to 50 percent of the world’s population may be deficient in vitamin D.

People get much of the vitamin D they require from its production in the skin, which is carried out in response to sunlight.

Diet can also provide vitamin D — it is found in high levels in foods like eggs and oily fish.

Studies in rats have found that they burn more calories when they are given large doses of vitamin D.

One analysis of around 165,000 people has found that a 10 percent rise in body weight is linked to a 4 percent drop in vitamin D levels.

The study suggests that the increase in weight leads to a drop in vitamin D levels.

There was evidence that higher vitamin D levels lead to weight loss, although the effect may be small.

Nevertheless, a drop in vitamin D levels in obese people puts them at an additional health risk.

Dr Elina Hypponen, study co-author, said:

“Vitamin D deficiency is an active health concern around the world.

While many health messages have focused on a lack of sun exposure or excessive use of suncreams, we should not forget that vitamin D deficiency is also caused by obesity.

Our study highlights the importance of monitoring and treating vitamin D deficiency in people who are overweight or obese, in order to alleviate adverse health effects caused by a lack of vitamin D.”

The study was published in the journal PLOS Medicine (Vimaleswaran et al., 2013).

Weekly injection of this anti-obesity medication could lead to a weight loss of 37 lb (17 kg).

Semaglutide, sold under the brand name Ozempic, could be an effective weight loss medication.

It has been sold in the U.S as an anti-diabetic medication, but the drug appears to have a remarkable weight loss effect when combined with intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) and a low-calorie diet.

A 68 week weight loss trial found that injection of 2.4 mg of semaglutide per week along with a low-calorie diet for the first 8 weeks and 30 sessions of IBT led to obese patients losing 16 percent of their weight.

This is a phase 3 clinical trial confirming the large weight loss effect by semaglutide when given as an anti-obesity medication to patients.

In a previous trial, participants who were obese or overweight received a 2.4 mg dose of semaglutide once-weekly alongside a low-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Participants, on average, lost over 15 kg and more than 30 percent of people lost one-fifth of their weight — an equivalent of 20 percent.

With obesity approaching 50 percent of the U.S. adult population, these findings on weight management could improve many people’s lives if followed correctly by the health care system.

For the recent study, 611 obese adults with an average weight of 233 pounds (106 kg) and a body mass index (BMI) of 38 took a 68-week weight loss treatment.

At the end of the study period, participants who received weekly a 2.4 mg dose of semaglutide along with a low-calorie diet plus IBT lost 17 kg while those who received a low-calorie diet plus IBT but no drug lost only 6 kg.

The low-calorie diet plan consisted of meal-replacement foods (shakes, bars, and prepared meals) providing 1,000 to 1,200 kcal a day.

Professor Thomas Wadden, the study’s first author, said:

“We wanted to induce a large weight loss with rigorous behavioral therapy and see how much additional weight loss semaglutide could add.

These are remarkable weight losses, particularly the one third of participants who lost 20 percent of baseline weight, a reduction that approaches that achieved with sleeve gastrectomy, a widely used bariatric surgery procedure.”

The semaglutide group who had greater weight loss also saw more improvement in their cardiometabolic health, such as reduced blood pressure, triglycerides, blood sugar levels, and waist circumference.

Professor Timothy Garvey, study co-author, said:

“These metabolic benefits and marked improvements in risk factors hold great promise for the prevention and treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The unprecedented degree of weight loss is also sufficient to prevent and treat other complications of obesity including osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.”

The higher dose of semaglutide at 2.4 mg seems to influence the brain’s appetite centre by reducing hunger and increasing the feeling of fullness consequently leading to eating less and so weight loss.

The study was published in the JAMA (Wadden et al., 2021).

It may be effective because it helps to regulate glucose levels.

A few cups of green tea each day is linked to weight loss, research finds.

Four cups of green tea was linked to 5.5 pounds of weight loss in eight weeks by one study.

Even two cups per day can be enough to shed a few pounds.

People lose weight drinking green tea in these studies without making other changes to their diet or exercise.

Restricting calories and/or adding more exercise will help to boost weight loss even more.

Green tea may be effective because it helps to regulate glucose levels.

The active ingredient is a type of flavonoid called gallated catechins, also known as EGCG.

Green tea can also help slow down weight gain, researchers have found.

One recent study on mice being fed a high-fat diet also gave them 2 percent green tea.

The results showed they put on 20 percent less weight in comparison to those not fed the green tea extract.

Professor Richard Bruno, study co-author, said:

“This study provides evidence that green tea encourages the growth of good gut bacteria, and that leads to a series of benefits that significantly lower the risk of obesity.”

The mice given the green tea extract also had better gut health and lower insulin resistance.

Professor Bruno said:

“The results of studies looking at obesity management so far have been a real mixed bag.

Some seem to support green tea for weight loss, but a lot of other research has shown no effect, likely due to the complexity of the diet relative to a number of lifestyle factors.”

Drinking green tea could help people lose weight, said Professor Bruno said:

“Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, and we know that just telling people to eat less and exercise more isn’t working.

It’s important to establish complementary health-promoting approaches that can prevent obesity and related problems,”

The study was published in the The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry (Chung et al., 2019).