How not to get fat at Christmas, according to science | Science and health

A study from the University of Birmingham, in partnership with the University of Loughborough, both based in the UK, has shown that paying attention to some simple tips to avoid drinking too much and eating can prevent people from gaining weight at the end of the year – even attend dozens of events with food in abundance.

The study volunteers who managed to escape weight gain received a list of ten weight management tips and another indicating the amount of physical activity needed to burn some popular foods and beverages at home. Christmas.

For example, it would take about 25 minutes of cycling to burn calories from a 100 g slice of tender (132 kcal).

The advice they received is from an article published in 2008 in the International Journal of Obesity 32.

The advice given to volunteers to study are simple steps, nothing to see with the fancy diets that usually circulate there period of the year:

1. Try to keep your eating routine → Keep the same hours as your regular diet or at least try to keep the schedule as close as possible.

2. Avoid fatty foods → Prefer lean meats (like turkey), avoid fatier salad dressings, avoid ready-to-eat pies

3. On → You can use a mobile app that counts your steps throughout the day and gradually increases the number. Small changes in the routine, at least during the holiday season, can help: climb up the ladder instead of taking the elevator, making small trails, and so on.

4. Choose healthy snacks → If you like to nibble, buy or prepare health food such as fruit, low-calorie yogurts, etc.

5. Read the label → Beware of advertising, especially in light and diet products (they do not always have fewer calories). Being aware of the amount of sugar, sodium and fat in industrialized foods helps to make food healthier.

6. Be careful with the portions → Do not fill the food dish (unless the food consists of vegetables). And think carefully before repeating, especially if you usually eat fast: give your brain time to realize that you are full.

7. Standing up → Avoid staying too long without getting up. For each sitting hour, lift for ten minutes. This is a practical tip to keep in mind when traveling, which are very common at the end of the year. On flights, walk in the alley. If you are traveling by car, stop at the establishments along the road.

8. Think about what you will drink → Prefer water or soda without sugar. Even fruit juices contain the natural sugar of the plant. Limit yourself to a glbad of juice a day. Alcohol is also very caloric, so try to compensate by avoiding repeating your meal on the days when you drink more.

9. Concentrate on the food → Enjoy the holidays to slow down. Do not eat in front of the television or do other activities; eat at the table if possible. Good appetite

10. Do not forget the 5 → rule Eat at least five servings of fruits, vegetables or vegetables a day (400 g total).

The study, called the "Winter Weight Watch Study", involved 272 volunteers randomly badigned to two groups: a control group and an intervention group.

Volunteers in the intervention group had to weigh daily, or at least twice a week.

They received ten tips (above) on how to avoid weight gain, a list of physical activities indicating the number of calories burned and the correspondence between those calories and common foods at the end of the year.

The control group only received a brochure containing brief information on healthy living without any nutritional advice.

The results showed that on average, control group participants gained weight during the Christmas period, but those in the intervention group retained their weight.

The study, published this Monday (10), in the British scientific journal The BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal). The survey was conducted between 2016 and 2018, with patients being measured and weighed in November and December 2016 and 2017, and then in January and February of the following years.

"The end of the year vacation coincides with a collective vacation in many countries, which allows for a long time of eating too much and staying sedentary," says nutritionist Frances Mason, a researcher at the University of New York. Birmingham. study.

"It's only on Christmas Day that people can consume 6,000 calories – three times as recommended," she says in a university statement on research.

"Those who develop public policies to avoid gaining weight in the most sensitive moments, such as holidays", could take into account light interventions, such as those of Winter Weight Watch.

Professor Amanda Daley, co-author of the study, explains that weight gain achieved during the holidays usually does not accompany weight loss at the beginning of the year. ;year.