Category: Weight Loss

People in the study lost weight without making lifestyle changes.

A variety of different supplements have been linked by research to weight loss.

However, two cups of green tea per day can lead to weight loss without making other changes, research suggests.

People who drank four cups in one study lost 5.5 pounds.

Both the flavonoids and caffeine contained in green tea may help to speed the metabolism, which lead to processing fat more quickly.

Antioxidants called catechins are also abundant in green tea.

Among these catechins, the most important is called Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG.

EGCG enhances the body’s ability to use fat and reduces the storage of fat.

When drinking green tea, letting the water cool before adding it avoids damaging the EGCG.

EGCG is available as a food supplement which contains a more concentrated dose.

The conclusions come from a study that included 35 obese people who either took green tea extract, drank green tea or made no change.

The results showed that those drinking four cups of green tea lost 5.5 pounds in 8 weeks.

The supplements led to 4 pounds of weight loss.

A different study of mice found that green tea worked to reduce the effects of a high-fat diet.

Dr Joshua Lambert, who led the mouse study, said:

“Our results suggest that if you supplement with EGCG or green tea you gain weight more slowly.

There seems to be two prongs to this.

First, EGCG reduces the ability to absorb fat and, second, it enhances the ability to use fat.”

Dr Lambert explained that both groups of mice were eating the same:

“There’s no difference in the amount of food the mice are eating.

The mice are essentially eating a milkshake, except one group is eating a milkshake with green tea.”

The studies were published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition and Obesity (Basu et al., 2013; Grove et al., 2011).

Genes put some people at higher risk of obesity.

The best exercise for weight loss is regular jogging, new research finds.

People whose genes make them susceptible to obesity can benefit most from this exercise.

A sign that you have a genetic susceptibility to obesity is putting on weight, no matter how much you reduce calorie intake.

Along with jogging, other types of exercise can also lead to weight loss for those with a genetic susceptibility, the researchers found:

• walking and power walking,
• mountain climbing,
• formal dancing, such as the waltz, tango, foxtrot and quickstep,
• and practising yoga for a long period.

Certain exercises, while beneficial for people in general, were not effective for those with a genetic susceptibility to obesity.

These include swimming, cycling and stretching.

Naturally, the exercises still burn calories, but do not seem to be as effective for some.

There were 18,424 people in the study, which was carried out in China.

Participants’ body weight and a genetic risk score were recorded.

Scoring genetic risk reflects the fact that some people are at a higher risk of obesity because of their genes.

The results were explained by the study’s authors:

“…mountain climbing, walking, exercise walking, international standard dancing, and a longer practice of yoga attenuated the genetic effects on BMI.

The benefits of regularly performing these 6 kinds of exercise are more impactful in subjects who are more predisposed to obesity.”

A range of other studies have looked at the best exercise for losing weight, but have not examined genetics.

Studies frequently find that high-intensity interval training, known as HIIT, can reduce weight more quickly than continuous exercise.

Common types of interval training involve 30-second bursts going “all out” followed by four minutes of recovery at a much lower intensity.

People in the studies doing interval training lost almost 30% more weight than those training at a moderate, continuous intensity.

The study was published in the journal PLOS Genetics (Lin et al., 2019).

The strategy beats both reducing calories and doing exercise.

The most popular weight loss tactic is to drink water throughout the day, researchers find.

This can be very effective as one study has found that drinking a pint of water before every meal can increase weight loss by five times.

Drinking water is three times more popular than reducing calorie intake and twice as popular as exercise.

Another study has shown that changing one sugary drink to water can boost weight loss by 5 pounds.

Drinking water works by making people feel more full before a meal, so that they eat less.

Water works as a natural appetite suppressant and may aid in the burning of calories and fat.

For the study, 48,026 people in the US answered a survey about their attempts to lose weight.

The results showed that 42 percent of people were trying to lose weight.

This figure had increased from 34 percent 15 years ago.

Dr Lu Qi, study co-author, said:

“These findings suggest that although 34-42% of U.S. adults in our study reported weight-loss efforts, many of them might either not actually implement weight-loss strategies or apply a minimal level of effort, which yielded unsatisfactory results.

Reduced food consumption is one common strategy to lose weight, but modified diets are difficult to maintain.”

The researchers found that other common weight loss techniques people used were reducing sugar intake and eating more fruits and vegetables.

Dr Qi said:

“These findings suggest a need to increase the promotion of effective strategies for weight loss, including caloric reduction and increased physical activity, among all adults attempting to lose weight.

Notably, adherence is the primary factor predictive of a successful response to a weight-loss attempt.

Therefore, weight-loss strategies that consider a participant’s preferences and abilities may help them stick with it long term.”

Although people attempted to increase their exercise levels to shed pounds, they usually did not do enough to have an effect.

The study was published in the JAMA Network Open (Han et al., 2019).

This change boosts energy and reduces appetite.

Sleeping for longer is linked to weight loss.

People who get more sleep have a lower body mass index (BMI), new research finds.

However, many people do not get the recommended amount, which is around 7 – 9 hours of sleep a night.

New research found that in a large US sample, the average was six hours, meaning many people sleep considerably less than the recommended amount.

Lack of sleep is thought to contribute to obesity by disrupting appetite and leaving less energy for exercise.

Ms Trimella Jefferson, the study’s first author, said:

“The good news is sleep is something most people can control, regardless of other factors, like income and education levels.

Spreading that information can be very empowering, especially to communities that struggle with obesity.”

To sleep better, psychologists recommend increasing ‘sleep hygiene’:

• Go to bed early enough to get at least seven hours of sleep.
• Avoid screens in the bedroom, including phones and TVs.
• Keep the bedroom dark and cool.
• Avoid large meals and alcohol before bedtime.
• Drink relatively little fluid before bedtime.

→ More information on how to fall asleep fast.

The conclusions come from a study including 3,778 overweight and obese African Americans.

All were being followed as part of the Jackson Heart Study, a large, long-term study of risk factors for heart disease among African Americans.

The study’s authors write:

“This study’s findings highlight the high rate of overweight and obesity among participants in the Jackson Heart Study.

About one-fourth of the participants described themselves as enjoying ideal health.

In men, longer sleep duration was associated with lower BMI levels and lower WC; in both men and women, good sleep quality was associated with lower WC.”

The study was published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (Jefferson et al., 2019).

The largest study yet pits weight lifting against aerobic exercise for weight loss.

Aerobic exercise is the best way to burn fat, recent research concludes.

People who jog, cycle, swim or do other forms of aerobic exercise, lose weight quicker than those doing resistance exercise, like weight lifting.

The study found little evidence that weight lifting helps to burn fat.

The results come from the largest randomised controlled trial yet conducted on the subject.

Ms Leslie H. Willis, the study’s first author, said:

“Given that approximately two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight due to excess body fat, we want to offer clear, evidence-based exercise recommendations that will truly help people lose weight and body fat.”

For the study, 234 overweight and obese people were split into three groups.

One group did resistance training, involving lifting weights three days a week.

A second group did aerobic exercise, running around 12 miles per week.

A third group did a combination of the two.

The results showed that aerobic exercise was the most efficient way to lose body fat.

Those doing aerobic exercise spent less time exercising (133 minutes per week) than those doing weight lifting (180 minutes per week).

The combination group did not lose any more weight than those doing just aerobic exercise, despite exercising for twice as long.

Ms Willis said:

“No one type of exercise will be best for every health benefit.

However, it might be time to reconsider the conventional wisdom that resistance training alone can induce changes in body mass or fat mass due to an increase in metabolism, as our study found no change.”

Dr Cris A. Slentz, study co-author, said:

“Balancing time commitments against health benefits, our study suggests that aerobic exercise is the best option for reducing fat mass and body mass.

It’s not that resistance training isn’t good for you; it’s just not very good at burning fat.”

The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology (Willis et al., 2019).

Meal timings and certain supplements can both help to boost weight loss.

Eating meals at slightly different times can potentially double weight loss, multiple studies find.

In addition, adding supplements to the diet can also boost weight loss.

Changing meal timings involves eating the evening meal a little earlier and breakfast a little later.

People in one study who had their breakfast 90 minutes later and supper 90 minutes earlier doubled their weight loss.

Other than this change, people in the study were free to eat what they liked.

To increase weight loss even further, reducing calorie intake and doing more exercise will be beneficial.

Another way to increase weight loss is to use supplements.

While many supplements have little evidence to support them, increasing protein intake has been shown to be effective.

However, protein supplements should be taken with meals rather than in between, to help boost weight loss.

Professor Wayne Campbell, study co-author, explained:

“It may matter when you take your supplements in relation to when you eat meals, so people who consume protein supplements in between meals as snacks may be less likely to be successful in managing their body weight.”

The research reviewed 34 separate studies — these found that protein supplements taken between meals led to weight gain.

However, when taken with meals, protein supplements can boost weight maintenance and loss.

Professor Campbell said:

“Such dietary compensation is likely missing when protein supplements are consumed as snacks.

Calories at meal times may not be adjusted to offset the supplement’s calories, thus leading to a higher calorie intake for that day.

If the goal is to manage weight, then snacking on protein supplements may be less effective.

People who are trying to gain weight may consider consuming protein supplements between meals.”

The study was published in the journal Nutrition Reviews (Hudson et al., 2019).

The breakfast that stimulates the breakdown of fat.

A breakfast high in fat is healthier for weight loss than a carbohydrate-rich morning meal, research finds.

Fat consumed in the morning stimulates the breakdown of fat, but carbohydrates do not improve fat or energy metabolism.

The old saying that you should “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper,” is useful advice.

A breakfast high in fat can improve metabolic profiles, while a high-carbohydrate meal in the morning and a high-fat diet for dinner can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, a study has found.

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

Researchers in this study wanted to see if what we eat and when we eat can influence body weight or increase cardiometabolic syndrome risk.

They fed mice a high-fat meal after waking and saw that blood sugar levels, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and waist circumference stayed normal.

On the other hand, mice that had high-carb foods in the morning and ate high-fat foods in the evening gained weight, adiposity, glucose intolerance, and elevated levels of triglycerides.

Professor Martin Young, study co-author, said:

“The first meal you have appears to program your metabolism for the rest of the day.

This study suggests that if you ate a carbohydrate-rich breakfast it would promote carbohydrate utilization throughout the rest of the day, whereas, if you have a fat-rich breakfast, you have metabolic plasticity to transfer your energy utilization between carbohydrate and fat.”

These findings suggest that weight loss regimes should consider the timing of food intake as well as quality and quantity of food.

Professor Molly Bray, the study’s first author said:

“Humans eat a mixed diet, and our study, which we have repeated four times in animals, seems to show that if you really want to be able to efficiently respond to mixed meals across a day then a meal in higher fat content in the morning is a good thing.

Another important component of our study is that, at the end of the day, the mice ate a low-caloric density meal, and we think that combination is key to the health benefits we’ve seen.”

The study was published in International Journal of Obesity (Bray et al., 2010).

Eating this luscious food can reduce cravings for both sweet and savoury.

Dark chocolate can lower the craving for fatty foods, sweet, and salty treats due to increased satiety and reducing the desire to eat more.

When it comes to choosing between dark chocolate and milk chocolate, we know it is much healthier to eat dark chocolate.

Studies have shown that dark chocolate, due to its high cacao content, can boost attention and increase people alertness.

A study conducted by Professor Larry Stevens and colleagues found that dark chocolate helps with relaxation, lowers blood pressure and improves heart health.

A Danish study suggests that dark chocolate is far more beneficial than milk chocolate in reducing appetite.

So, if you want to keep your weight down over the holidays, then dark chocolate for desserts might not be a bad idea as it gives a feeling of fullness with satisfaction.

Researchers looked at the effect of milk and dark chocolate on appetite and calorie intake on a group of young, healthy men with normal weight.

Participants fasted for 12 hours and then ate 100g of dark chocolate or milk chocolate in two separate sessions.

Their satiety, hunger, and cravings for special foods were recorded for 5 hours after eating each type of chocolate.

150 minutes after consuming either dark or milk chocolate, they were given pizza and asked to eat until they felt full.

The results showed that eating dark chocolate beforehand reduced their appetite and calorie intake by 17 percent, meaning they ate significantly less pizza.

The participants also reported that after eating dark chocolate they craved less salty, fatty foods or sweets.

Unsweetened dark chocolate with more than 60 percent cacao also contains healthy fats and antioxidants.

Professor Stevens, said:

“People don’t generally eat chocolate and think it’s going to be healthy for them.

A regular chocolate bar with high sugar and milk content won’t be as good, it’s the high-cacao content chocolate that can be found from most manufacturers that will have these effects.”

The dark chocolate study on appetite was published in Nutrition and Diabetes (Sørensen & Astrup, 2011).

People taking the supplement show reduced activity in brain regions vital to food cravings.

A range of different supplements have been linked to increased weight loss.

One of these is a type natural fibre called inulin.

Inulin, which can quadruple weight loss according to one study, is found in foods like onions, leeks, bananas and wheat.

Inulin supplements can be added to the diet by mixing into normal foods, such as bread or smoothies.

An inulin supplement works by decreasing cravings for high-calorie foods.

People in the present study ate 14 percent less, on average, after taking the supplement.

It also helps to enhance the signals to stop eating sent from the gut to the brain.

People taking inulin show reduced activity in brain regions vital to food cravings, scans have shown.

The latest research on weight loss has linked inulin to a fatty acid called propionate.

Propionate is produced naturally by the gut when dietary fibre is fermented.

For the present study, people took an inulin-propionate ester.

The results showed that it reduced appetite, reduced intake of calories and helped people maintain their weight, rather than putting on more.

The supplement also reduced belly and liver fat in people who took it.

Professor Gary Frost, who led the study, said:

“We know that adults gain between 0.3 and 0.8 kilos a year on average, and there’s a real need for new strategies that can prevent this.

Molecules like propionate stimulate the release of gut hormones that control appetite, but you need to eat huge amounts of fibre to achieve a strong effect.

We wanted to find a more efficient way to deliver propionate to the gut.

This small, proof-of-principle study shows encouraging signs that supplementing one’s diet with the ingredient we’ve developed prevents weight gain in overweight people.

You need to eat it regularly to have an effect.

We’re exploring what kinds of foods it could be added to, but something like bread or fruit smoothies might work well.”

The study was published in the journal Gut (Chambers et al., 2014).

It is a natural appetite suppressant and can help in the burning of fat and calories.

A pint of water drunk half-an-hour before eating can increase weight loss by five times, research finds.

Drinking water before a meal led to 10 pounds of weight loss across three months.

In comparison, people in the study who only drank water before one meal lost just 2 pounds.

Drinking water works simply by making people feel more full before they eat.

As a result, they consume fewer calories.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant and can help in the burning of fat and calories.

The only drink allowed in the study was tap water — not sodas, sweetened drinks or sparkling water.

However, as long as the drink contains no calories, it would probably be just as effective.

Dr Helen Parretti, the study’s first author, said:

“The beauty of these findings is in the simplicity.

Just drinking a pint of water, three times a day, before your main meals may help reduce your weight.

When combined with brief instructions on how to increase your amount of physical activity and on a healthy diet, this seems to help people to achieve some extra weight loss — at a moderate and healthy rate.

It’s something that doesn’t take much work to integrate into our busy everyday lives.”

For the study, 84 people were split into two group.

One group only imagined that their stomachs were full before each meal.

The other group drank a pint of water 30 minutes before eating.

The results showed that drinking water before every meal led to 9.48 pounds of weight loss, on average.

However, only drinking water before one meal was linked to an average weight loss of just 1.76 pounds.

Dr Parretti said:

“Losing a few extra pounds over the course of a year can be significant to an individual, and this could be an easy way to help with that weight loss.

It’s a simple message that has the potential to make a real contribution to public health.”

The study was published in the journal Obesity (Parretti et al., 2015).